'Bubble bylaw' to be drafted for Ottawa council amid charter concerns from councillors, community
City staff will draft a 'bubble bylaw' prohibiting protests within 80 metres of vulnerable spaces as Ottawa council gave the green light to the proposal amid legal concerns from councillors and charter challenges in other cities.
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Staff will have nine months to craft a 'bubble zone' bylaw aimed at protecting vulnerable 'social infrastructure' such as schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities and places of worship while also balancing and respecting the right to protest. The draft is expected to come back before council for a vote in early 2026.
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A motion from Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill passed through a marathon joint meeting of the city's emergency preparedness and protective services committee and the public works and infrastructure committee on May 15-16, where 42 public delegations signed up to voice their support for and opposition to the proposed bylaw.
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Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said that committee debate had been 'gut-wrenching' as she voted for the motion 'with extreme reservations' at the May 28 council session.
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Troster voted for the motion after the committee agreed to remove language defining 'grievance' or 'nuisance' demonstrations. Troster had expressed concern over the wording and the potential for handing new powers to police or bylaw officers 'to make the determination about whether a protest is legitimate or not.'
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Troster cited the landmark protests that advanced LGBTQ causes and said the act of protest was 'not always convenient, it's not always quiet.
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'The purpose is to be disruptive and it is to make people listen,' Troster said. 'And people do it when they're desperate, when they don't have any other place or any other way that they can make their voice heard.'
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Troster urged city staff to 'make a distinction between danger and discomfort because we can all stand to be a little bit uncomfortable sometimes if it makes us realize what's going on in the world.'
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Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine was among three councillors who voted against the motion, citing the 'unintended consequences' of such bylaws and the uncertain legal status of similar legislation in other municipalities.
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'We are moving forward with the drafting of our own bubble bylaw without taking the time to study Calgary's version or Vaughan's version or Toronto's version to see how they might fare in court,' Devine said.
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