On March 14, 2023, Calgary City Council passed a new bylaw that restricts protests around city libraries and city recreation facilities, like community and fitness centres. The new bylaw restricts specified types of protests, namely protests that express “objection or disapproval” towards ideas or actions related to “race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation”.
The bylaw prohibits protests of this nature on publicly accessible property within 100 metres of an entrance to a recreation facility or a library. While enacted as a response to protests against library’s hosting “Drag Queen Story Hour”, the bylaw will actually also limit many other protests, as Christine explains in this video.