BRAMPTON: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is pleased that Brampton City Council has voted to conduct public consultations on proposed unconstitutional amendments to the city’s Sign By-law. On November 28, 2022, Council voted on a resolution to amend the Sign By-law to only permit the display of election posters in windows or in windows on doors, with the restriction applying to private residential property. The by-law has not yet been enacted. Following an announcement of planned litigation by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, Brampton City Council discussed the proposed by-law change during a closed session of the December 14 council meeting. The discussion was closed to the public because it dealt with litigation or potential litigation. Following the closed session, Brampton council passed a public motion directing staff to commence public consultations regarding the making of changes to the Sign By-law in relation to election signs and to report back to Council with recommendations. A clip of that portion of council, which took place at time stamp 3 hours 24 minutes, is available here. “We are pleased to see that Brampton City Council has responded to our concerns about the unconstitutionality of this proposed by-law. It is obvious that the move to conduct a consultation instead of enacting the bylaw is a result of our plan to move forward with litigation alongside three Brampton residents,” said CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn. “The proposed Brampton sign law is undemocratic and unconstitutional. It prohibits outdoor signs on private property and goes against a long line of cases from the Supreme Court protecting free expression and political speech. It entrenches incumbent advantage by protecting candidates with name recognition and prohibiting their opponents from meaningfully advertising,” continued Van Geyn. “Our sincere hope is that following this consultation period Council realizes that their plan to restrict election speech is legally flawed and changes course. This looks like the first step in a walk back of this by-law, and if that ultimately is the case, it is the right move for Brampton voters,” concluded Van Geyn. The CCF and the Brampton residents have retained Annamaria Enenajor, who specializes in criminal defence, constitutional law and civil rights law. Ms. Enenajor represented the CCF at the Supreme Court of Canada in a freedom of expression case in 2021. |
