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The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled that Parliamentary security violated an organization’s Charter rights by prohibiting it from displaying anti-abortion signs depicting aborted fetuses at a 2023 event on Parliament Hill.
The court found on June 11 that the security’s decision infringed on Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) members’ freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was not justified under section 1 of the Charter.
During a press conference held on the Parliament Hill lawn on May 10, 2023, Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) inspected CLC signs depicting aborted fetuses, and told the organizers that the images were too graphic and violated Parliament Hill’s rules that govern demonstrations. The press conference was held a day before the CLC’s annual March For Life through the streets of Ottawa, attended by thousands of people.
The judge found that PPS relied on a rule that prohibited “obscene messages or messages promoting hate or violence,” but said this seemed “problematic” because the signs would not have met the Criminal Code definition of obscenity.
The judge also said that while PPS brought in an expert to demonstrate that the images on the signs could have been traumatizing for children and women who had undergone abortions, there were no “children or vulnerable individuals present at the time in question.”
The judge wrote that while Parliament Hill is subject to rules and reasonable limits, Charter protections still apply to political expression taking place at the site. The judge said that the CLC had only sought a declaration that the citizens’ Section 2 Charter rights were infringed upon, and that this was “appropriate” to declare.
CLC National President Jeff Gunnarson said in a June 12 press release that the ruling is an “important victory” for “every Canadian who believes Parliament Hill must remain a place where one can speak freely on the issues that matter most—in this case, the right to life.”
Gunnarson said that Parliament Hill has long been a place for Canadians to gather to communicate political messages. “We are pleased that the Court recognized that constitutional freedoms cannot be restricted through subjective and unpredictable censorship,” he said.
The Epoch Times reached out to PPS for comment, but did not hear back before press time.
CLC was represented by constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir, and the case was funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. The civil liberties organization said in a statement that the lawyers are reviewing the Court’s reasons and “considering next steps in light of the issues left unresolved by this decision.”
