Bylaw would come into effect on July 2 if approved at next week’s council meeting
Toronto city staff are recommending a new bylaw that would create 20-metre “bubble zones” around schools, daycares and places of worship to prevent protests that block access or target individuals based on their identity.
The proposal, which comes amid ongoing tensions over demonstrations linked to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, aims to strike a balance between public safety and free expression, according to a staff report.
Mayor Olivia Chow “believes that any bylaw must protect people’s Charter rights to assembly, expression and religion, while addressing community concerns about safety and protecting access to places of worship,” according to a statement from Zeus Eden, her press secretary.
The bylaw would not impose blanket restrictions across the city. Instead, individual institutions would have to request a bubble zone by demonstrating they’ve been affected by a protest within the previous 90 days.
The protest exclusion zones would apply only to city-owned property, such as sidewalks, and only remain in effect during an approved location’s operating hours — including one hour before opening and after closing — for 180 days. They could be renewed upon request.
City staff say the 20-metre buffer is a measured approach that balances “the intended objective of protecting access” to the facilities “while being minimally impairing on Charter rights,” the report said.
The bylaw “reflects the city’s dedication to keeping Toronto safe from hate and fostering an inclusive and respectful community,” said Russell Baker, the city’s manager of media relations, in a statement.
“Extensive public consultations informed this balanced approach, ensuring that diverse perspectives were considered in developing the staff recommendation,” Baker added.
To prevent abuse, applicants must attest to the legitimacy of their claim. If the city determines false information was provided, the bubble zone would be revoked.
The bylaw explicitly exempts Nathan Phillips Square from becoming a protest-free zone. There were open questions as to whether the bylaw would prevent protests outside city hall because the building is home to a daycare.
Labour groups raised concerns that the bylaw could restrict union picketing. City staff clarified that the bylaw does not apply to peaceful protests, including strikes, information pickets, or other labour-related activities.
Staff acknowledged the bylaw “may result in community members feeling like they are unable to peacefully demonstrate.” They promised to reach out to various groups to clarify how it works.
Enforcement will prioritize compliance over punishment. Bylaw officers and police must first warn individuals before issuing fines, giving them a chance to leave the area voluntarily. Courts would determine the fine but the maximum penalty is $5,000.
However, an officer can skip the notification step if they determine there is an “immediate threat to the health, safety, well-being or security of the public.”
“This would allow persons to voluntarily comply with the bylaw prior to being subject to any further enforcement action,” the report states.
City staff expect to spend $1.6 million to hire 12 staff to administer the bylaw. The money will also go toward purchasing a vehicle and new laptops. The city will spend another $200,000 on a public education campaign.
Council will vote on the measure next week.
Reaction among the councillors who have supported implementing bubble zones has been mixed.
Coun. James Pasternak (York Centre) told TorontoToday he’s largely pleased with the proposal but would like to see some tweaks. He said it does a good job of balancing the need to ensure faith-based communities feel safe without taking away anyone’s right to protest.
Pasternak said he is taking the weekend to review the bylaw with a lawyer before bringing any potential changes to council next week.
Coun. Diane Saxe (University-Rosedale) and Coun. Brad Bradford (Beaches-East York) both said it doesn’t go far enough, and expressed concern the bylaw places an undue burden on faith institutions to request a bubble zone.
It’s a “very small step in the right direction,” but is “very onerous,” Saxe told TorontoToday.
Part of the bylaw says the bubble zone will only apply when the building is being used for the “primary purposes” of running a daycare, school or place of worship.
The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre has a daycare and a school, Saxe said, “but the building is not primarily used for that.”
“Parts of the building are primarily used for childcare and the school. Part of the building is primarily used as a community centre,” she said. The bylaw “seems to suggest that that part will never qualify, because it’s a shared building.”
Saxe called it “unworkable” and said it will require too much “paperwork.”
Bradford cited other cities — like Vaughan and Calgary — that implemented blanket 100-metre bubble zones as examples Toronto should follow.
“It’s past time for Toronto to catch up with these other jurisdictions and take action to protect threatened communities in our city,” he said in a statement to TorontoToday. “I’m concerned that it does not provide the protections that communities have been asking for. Institutions shouldn’t have to endure a targeted protest before being protected through this bylaw.”
Ariella Kimmel, executive director of A Better City Toronto, a new advocacy organization, blasted the bylaw as insufficient.
“Twenty metres is nothing when people are screaming obscenities and death threats at you while you’re walking with your children,” she said.
Like Bradford and Saxe, she said it’s “ridiculous” that the city is “creating red tape for vulnerable institutions and populations.”
Concerns also abound on the other side of the debate,
Saman Tabasinejad, executive director of the advocacy group Progress Toronto, said it was encouraging Toronto didn’t go for a blanket ban and instead opted for the request-based system.
“It’s not as extreme as Vaughan,” she said, but acknowledged the request system “does create a massive bureaucracy.”
Despite that, Tabasinejad said the bubble zones are “still a restriction on protests,” and it’s not clear what activities would be captured under the bylaw.
She said she’s worried about it creating a “chilling effect” on protest with so many unanswered questions about where and how the bylaw would apply.