OTTAWA, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled that the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) violated the Charter rights of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) and one of its members by preventing the display of signs expressing opposition to abortion on Parliament Hill in May 2023.
The Court held that the decision to prohibit the signs infringed the Applicants’ freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was not justified under section 1 of the Charter.
The case arose from a May 2023 press conference organized by Campaign Life Coalition ahead of its annual National March for Life. Before the event began, PPS officers inspected signs depicting fetal remains and prohibited their display, stating that the images were too graphic and violated Parliament Hill’s rules governing demonstrations.
Campaign Life Coalition and an individual participant challenged both the enforcement decision and the rules that authorized it.
In reasons released today, the Court emphasized that freedom of expression occupies a central place in Canadian democracy and concluded that the PPS acted unreasonably in relying on broad and subjective prohibitions against signs considered “obscene” or promoting “hate or violence.”
The Court noted that while Parliament Hill is subject to rules and reasonable limits, constitutional protections still apply to political expression taking place there.
Importantly, the Court rejected arguments that the protection of expression depended on whether the signs were accurate, persuasive, or acceptable to the public.
Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir said, “Parliament Hill has long been a place where Canadians gather to communicate political messages directly to lawmakers and to the public. We are pleased that the Court recognized that constitutional freedoms cannot be restricted through subjective and unpredictable censorship.”
The Court granted a declaration that the Applicants’ Charter rights were breached. At the same time, the Court declined to strike down Parliament Hill’s General Rules or the later-added prohibition on signs displaying explicit graphic violence or blood. The Court held that those broader constitutional questions could not properly be decided because the entities responsible for creating and administering the rules were not parties to the case.
Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre are reviewing the Court’s reasons and considering next steps in light of the issues left unresolved by this decision.
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.
