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The Canadian Constitution Foundation (the “CCF”) is pleased to announce that it is terminating its lawsuit against the City of Whitehorse after council voted to amend their Civility Policy to better protect the freedom of expression of citizens who wish to participate in local government.

On May 27, Whitehorse Council voted unanimously to amend the policy passed by a previous council in August 2024. The CCF sought judicial review of the policy in the Yukon Supreme Court after local residents raised concerns about the impact of the policy on their ability to express themselves at council meetings, and the former city council refused to fix the policy.

The CCF will drop its judicial review application because it is satisfied that the amended policy, although far from perfect, is sufficiently protective of constitutional rights. The changes made to the policy that will bring it better in line with the right to freedom of expression include the following:

• it no longer bans “microaggressions”;
• it no longer bans signage in council chambers, except for signs that exceed a certain size, obstruct views, or contain hate speech, threats or incitement to violence;
• it no longer empowers the presiding officer to ban “disrespectful” attire from the council chambers, or require that protected speech on attire be covered up; and
• residents will no longer face censure for making comments deemed “inappropriate”.

CCF Counsel Josh Dehaas thanked council for listening to residents’ concerns.

“While imperfect, since there is still a risk that subjectively offensive speech will be silenced, this is a more reasonable policy that better balances council’s goal of maintaining decorum at city council meetings with the rights of citizens who wish to make their viewpoints known in council chambers, whether on a cardboard sign, a pin, a T-shirt or at a podium,” Dehaas said.

“If the policy is enforced against a citizen for protected speech, the CCF won’t be afraid to act,” he added. “Freedom of expression protects even the most unpopular viewpoints and it’s not up to politicians to decide what we may or may not say.”

CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn said the CCF’s lawsuit should serve as a warning to other municipalities that fail to properly protect freedom of expression when drafting bylaws.

“The CCF has succeeded once again in getting a municipality to change plans for an unconstitutional bylaw,” Van Geyn said. “Whitehorse is just one of dozens of municipalities in Canada that have passed unconstitutional bylaws in recent years,” Van Geyn said.

“We at the CCF are pushing back, not just through litigation, but also with our upcoming report on Canada’s Worst Censorship Bylaws,” she added.

The report, available online June 5, will highlight municipal speech restrictions across Canada. The community with the worst anti-speech bylaw will be awarded the CCF’s inaugural Municipal Muzzle Award.

CCF Executive Director Joanna Baron said she was pleased with the outcome.

“Municipalities should think twice before they pass expression-restricting bylaws,” she said.

The CCF thanks Vincent Larochelle of Larochelle Law for his successful advocacy in the matter.

The CCF is a non-partisan legal charity that defends constitutional rights and freedoms through litigation, communication and public education. To learn more, visit TheCCF.ca.