WINNIPEG, MB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Rural Municipality of Springfield (Municipality) has filed its legal brief defending a bylaw that prohibits members of the public from recording municipal council meetings. The case will be heard at the Court of King’s Bench in Winnipeg on April 30, 2026.
Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre are assisting four Manitoba residents challenging a municipal bylaw that allows only media to record council meetings while prohibiting the public. The case began after residents were stopped from recording, including an incident in February 2025. Subsequent requests were also denied.
In the brief, the Municipality admits its actions run counter to freedom of expression: “The Municipality does not dispute that the activity of recording Council Meetings has expressive content and falls prima facie within the scope of section 2(b) of the Charter.”
However, the Municipality’s brief argues that the mayor has the authority to prohibit recordings during council meetings and that the bylaw is a valid exercise of municipal power. It further claims that recording meetings is not protected by the Charter’s guarantee of freedom of expression, or alternatively, that any infringement is justified.
The challenged bylaw allows media to record meetings with prior approval but excludes members of the public from doing so. The Municipality defends this distinction on the basis of concerns about privacy, disruption, and the potential misuse of recordings.
Constitutional lawyer Darren Leung, who is representing the four residents contesting the ban, said, “Recording public proceedings is a form of expression that enables accountability and democratic participation. Preventing citizens from doing so raises serious concerns under the Charter’s protection of freedom of expression.”
