Municipalities across Ontario are being pressured by lobby groups to pass so-called “bubble zone” bylaws to prevent legal protests they do not like. Such bylaws do two things. First, they prohibit already illegal behaviour like violence, threats of violence, preventing access to buildings, and harassment on public property (streets, sidewalks, parks) within a certain distance of designated infrastructure, such as religious centres, school buildings, hospitals, and childcare facilities. Second, they prohibit legal free expression on public property within the restricted zone.
Supporters of the recently enacted bubble zone by-law in Toronto argue that the law is necessary to protect individuals, who are entering and leaving places such as synagogues and religious schools, from harassment and intimidation by protestors. While very little was said in these debates about the protection of “captive audiences” from speech they find objectionable, this concern is, I think, implicit in the claim that the speech of protestors, and more particularly pro-Palestinian protestors, is harmful.
In the small town of Valleyview, Alberta, social conservatives are campaigning to rid the public library of books about sexual minorities.The campaign received Canada-wide attention on February 7, 2025, when CBC News publicized the results of a major investigation.But the struggle between the social conservatives and their critics has not ended. The mayor and town council still have plans to reduce library funding, shut down the current library, and open a smaller public library in a K–12 school that has not been built.REPORTAGE
