Justice Centre issues warning to City of Ottawa over proposed bylaw
The City of Ottawa is facing backlash over a proposed bylaw that would limit freedom of expression in the nation’s capital.
Ezra Levant | April 30, 2026 | News Analysis | 2 Comments
Article by Rebel News staff
On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, lawyer Hatim Kheir from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms joined the show to speak on their latest legal notice issued to the city of Ottawa.
The Justice Centre is sounding the alarm about the city’s new ‘Safe Access to Social Infrastructure Bylaw’, which would prevent individuals or groups from peacefully protesting near places of worship, schools, childcare centres, or healthcare facilities.
“Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre warn that the bylaw is overly broad and lacks meaningful safeguards, effectively enabling the creation of protest-free zones in public spaces,” a statement from the organization reads in part.
Kheir further discussed some of the more concerning aspects of the proposed bylaw and its potential impact on freedom of expression.
“Probably the most concerning thing is it prohibits demonstrations, which are defined as one or more people in a place primarily for the purpose of expressing an opinion. So it could just be a person holding a sign would be prohibited from 50 metres from the access point to the designated facility,” he said.
Kheir highlighted that facilities would only need to submit a simple application and attestation to establish these 50-metre safe access zones, raising concerns that the bylaw grants broad discretionary power with insufficient protections for Charter rights.