This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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A law professor at Univerisity of Calgary has expressed extreme shock to hear about the new laws adopted to crack down on bad behavior by southern Alberta town of Taber. According to the new bylaw, it would fine people for offenses including but not limited to spitting, yelling, screaming or swearing in public.
The executive director of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre at the U of C, Linda McKay-Panos, recently mentioned in her remarks that “I don’t think that’s going to pass must with freedom of expression and freedom of association.” McKay-Panos pointed out that the bylaw would most likely be found unconstitutional if challenged in court because “anywhere in Canada we have the protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms–including Taber. People who draft up these laws have to be prepared that anyone getting a ticket is probably going to fight it.”
Whereas although Taber police chief, Alf Rudd, publicly supports the bylaw he claims not to be surprised that people are making fun of the town. He alleged that “57,000 tweeters in five minutes can’t be wrong, I suppose. I see people are having fun with it. If they’re thinking the Taber Police Service has the capacity to do the type of enforcement I see being talked about that’s not going to happen.” Rudd confirmed that it would be “pretty extenuating circumstances” before police would charge anyone under the bylaw.
I believe the bylaw for the city of Taber is well-intended, but I think the provision against peaceful gatherings is against our nation’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is interesting to note that citizens feel there is a need to legislate conformity to behaviours that were once universally conscomment_IDered common courtesy, Unfortunately, there are those who feel that their indivcomment_IDual rights of expression trump those of the community to feel safe and protected. Rights and freedoms should be balanced with a sense of duty to our country and society. Having a curfew for youth may help with the grafitti problem, but it is a sad commentary that our elected law makers feel they must act to curb blatantly anti-social behaviours that should have been iliminated by good parenting.