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IB NEWS TOWN TO EXAMINE RESTRICTIONS FOR GRAPHIC ANTI-ABORTION FLYERS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Oakville council has di- rected town staff to take an- other look at placing re- strictions on graphic anti- abortion flyers and public displays. Councillors voted dur- ing their Monday, June 19 meeting to have staff re-ex- back with recomm tions before the end of fall. The home delivery | of flyers showing wl claimed to be aborted te. tuses at various stages of development and public protests it display simi- lari eager have been a re- issue within the town or years. In a report to council, Jim Barry, director of mu- nicipal enforcement, noted the problem with regulat- se images is thatany restriction on the display, form or content of an advo- cacy sign or (including flyers) would generally constitute an in- fringement of the constitu- tional right to freedom of expression. That said, Barry noted such rights are subject to reasonable limits. In the report, ‘he noted some Canadian municipal- ities prohibit flyer delivery at or on a residential prop- erty ifa sign states that the owner does not wish to re- ceive flyers. He also noted a private member's bill is currently ing its way through the provincial legislature that would prevent someone mm sending a graphic im- age ofa fetus by mail unless the image is contained in an opaque envelope. The envelope would also need to display a warning about the flyer's content and clearly identify the Coun. Sean O'Meara. sender. Violators would face a fine of $100 per image. Barry said this bill has moved through its first reading; however, there is no indication if it will move beyond that. While Barry said other oon could involve re- ring flyer distributors to 5 adhere to the Canadian Code of Advertising Stan- Sean O'Meara photo dards or altering the town's sign bylaw to regulate sign size and where it could be displayed, he noted both paths present challenges for enforce: “Officers ‘would be re- uired to locate the person responsible for flyer deliv- ery," he “Often flyers are left at a home, with the deliverer unseen and many times untraceable." Dealing with sign viola- tions at protests would also prove challenging, with arry noting town enforce- ment officers do not have the authority to demand identification from the public, making it unlikely they will get the required information to issue a charge. "In addition, enforcing such a regulation would put enforcement staff in the position of confronting protesters, often in a large group, which would create a safety concern ant escalate tempers and pro- tester action," said Barry. He ultimately conclud- ed this issue may best be dealt with at the provincial level. Ward 1 Coun. Sean O'Meara disagreed, point- ing to London for a poten- tial solution. “London has actually passed a bylaw making it mandation that any litera- £ ture di Pe i may con- 2 tain explicit ‘ nformation & e sai FI "Wood: stock is also in § the process of doing the = cy same, and I believe this Au. gust, London is looking at < counteracts the Charter's right to say whatever you ... Not if you're harm- ing people.” Barry noted a similar bylaw could be considered, but again said there would be > challenges with enforce- meoyMeara a there was no certaint province would act on n this issue and argued Oakville should move ahead with legisla- tion of its own. “There is harm being done here," he said. The matter will be dis- cussed further as part of a review of the town's licens- ing bylaw in the fall. i 3 3