IN DEPTH: City Bylaws Increasingly Used to Prohibit ‘Offending’ People in Canada

People hold signs during the 1 Million March for Children demonstration supporting parental rights, in Ottawa on Sept. 20, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Measures with the stated purpose of preventing discrimination are increasing in cities across Canada, but some say they put undue restrictions on free expression.

Waterloo, Ontario, added a section to one of its bylaws this month to ban speech on public property that makes others “feel harassed.” Calgary has a similar bylaw against causing “offence or humiliation” anywhere in public.