WHITEHORSE, YUKON – The Canadian Constitution Foundation filed a petition on November 5, 2024 challenging the City of Whitehorse’s Civility Policy. This policy places unacceptable limits on the freedom of expression of citizens who wish to participate in or observe council meetings, including by regulating their attire.
The policy, approved by a 4-2 vote on August 12, 2024 includes a number of restrictions on expression that are not justifiable in a free and democratic society, including:
- a ban on bringing signs into the venue where Council is meeting;
- a rule requiring participants “to refrain from microaggressions,” which are defined in the policy as “a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude towards a member of a marginalized group”;
- a rule allowing the presiding officer at a meeting to require a participant to remove or cover up any attire “including buttons, non-religious headwear, pins, or other item” that the presiding officer decides is “disrespectful,” including attired that is “detrimental,” “offensive” or “vulgar.”
- and a rule allowing the presiding officer or city administration to discard any document if they have reasonable grounds to believe that distribution of it in an open and public forum may be “inappropriate” including material that “… makes accusations, or contains libellous or insulting language directed to Council, Administration, members of the public, or identifiable groups.”
Whitehorse lawyer Vincent Larochelle wrote to the former mayor and councillors on August 26, 2024, on behalf of the CCF to outline the CCF’s concerns and to threaten possible legal action if the policy was not amended by September 16. Whitehorse did not respond to the letter so the CCF had no choice but to seek judicial review.
CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas said that the policy is just one of many examples of municipalities choosing to restrict the freedom of expression of members of the public who are simply trying to participate in local democracy.
“A policy that allows a presiding officer at a city council meeting to block people from conveying messages that he or she finds offensive, detrimental, or vulgar, or to exclude members of the public from participating for so-called microaggressions, cannot possibly be a justified limit on freedom of expression,” Dehaas said.
“It’s perfectly normal to wear provocative or even sometimes offensive buttons and T-shirts to city council meetings to get one’s political message across,” he added.
“As the Supreme Court has noted, the purpose of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression is to protect expressions however unpopular, distasteful or contrary to the mainstream thinking so it is difficult to see how such a restriction could comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
Dehaas said the ban on “inappropriate” written materials also disproportionately limits expression.
“Citizens are entitled to use language in their communications that politicians and others might find insulting or inappropriate,” Dehaas explained.
The ban on bringing signs into city council chambers is also a serious restriction on freedom of expression.
“There is a long history of citizens bringing signs into council chambers to try to convey political messages to councillors, the media and other citizens in attendance,” Dehaas said. “There’s simply no reason to ban them.”
Vincent Larochelle
867-456-2325
[email protected]
Josh Dehaas
Counsel
Canadian Constitution Foundation
1-888-695-9105 x. 105
[email protected]