Speakers urge city councillors to ditch proposed public spaces bylaw
Some business community members support bylaw, grassroots organizers oppose it
There was significant community pushback as a revised draft of a proposed public spaces bylaw was heard on Monday during a community and public services committee meeting at Edmonton's city hall.
The current draft of Edmonton's public spaces bylaw cracks down on drug use in public. City administration is proposing a $25 fine for that offence and others, including sleeping outside and panhandling.
City administration is also recommending that large events with an expected attendance of 100 or more people be required to have a permit.
Permitting could take up to six weeks to obtain as advanced notice would be required along with proof of a minimum $2 million liability insurance coverage.
More than 50 people signed up to speak at the meeting.
Many harm reduction, protest and community groups that work with people experiencing homelessness vehemently objected to the proposed bylaw amendments brought forward by administration on Monday.
Some said the proposed bylaw was dehumanizing and criminalizing those experiencing homelessness, while others were concerned that the city was infringing on the ability to protest.
The overwhelming majority of speakers Monday implored the committee to not pass the bylaw, saying the city was taking a punitive approach toward public safety.
WATCH | How will a revamped public spaces bylaw impact all Edmontonians?
Joanna Zhu, 14, a member of the City of Edmonton Youth Council, made an impassioned plea to the committee and administration to recognize the humanity of those who are experiencing homelessness and not pass the bylaw.
"We often don't realize how close we really are to becoming those who our society, as shown by this bylaw look down upon," Zhu said.
"This [bylaw] further desensitizes us by moving houseless people out of our line of sight. We're punishing them for simply existing. Doesn't this idea of hiding houseless people who make you uncomfortable sound so dystopian?"
'We cannot maintain the status quo'
The city's business community was split as some speakers supported the bylaw while others voiced dissent against it.
Those in support cited safety issues faced by business owners and consumers.
"We really need solutions right now, as Edmontonians, we cannot maintain the status quo," Heather Thomson with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce told the committee about why the chamber supports the bylaw.
Lisa Baroldi, CEO of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Edmonton and North, said ultimately, the city needs to improve safety.
"I understand this bylaw is imperfect. Some will say it goes too far, while others will say it doesn't go far enough," Baroldi said.
The association said it supports the bylaw because of the safety concerns it has heard from its members who are employees of cleaning companies, maintenance and construction workers, security workers and building managers and operators.
LISTEN | Why one harm reduction organization is against the public spaces bylaw
David Plamondon owns Pe Metawe Games, an Indigenous-owned tabletop board game, and is with the Alberta Avenue Business Association.
"This particular bylaw, as it stands, has a disproportionate effect on folks who are already vulnerable, who the system has already failed, and who are already experiencing houselessness and poverty," Plamondon said.
"There's no reason why somebody should be doubly punished for having to do the bare minimum, do what they can to survive, whether it's being outside shelter or being in a transit station, if they're not fully, actively using transit.
"I'm a big proponent for creating more of a sense of safety within the city, but until we address the underlying issues that create this disparate level of poverty that particularly disproportionately affects Indigenous people, we're not going to get to a position of where we feel safe."
Protest barriers
Organizations such as the Edmonton chapter of Independent Jewish Voices, YEG Muslim Vote, Pride Corner on Whyte and Justice For Mathios Arkangelo all decried the bylaw citing barriers being added to being able to protest.
"The very essence of protests are often spontaneous and responsive in moments of urgency. Communities cannot afford bureaucratic delays or discretionary approvals that may prevent their voices from being heard in the first place," Shiza Wasi with YEG Muslim Vote told the committee.
"The bylaw, in its entirety, could enable selective enforcement and over-policing of communities that already face harm at the hands of the police."
Committee co-chair and Coun. Erin Rutherford spoke to media during an afternoon break from the meeting about the city's limitations on how it can address the issues and why its aiming for a stricter approach.
"We have talked a lot at this council about how we are so limited, both financially and legislatively, in our ability to help the situation," Rutherford said on why it was difficult to incorporate harm reduction workers into the approach to help those experiencing homelessness.
"We have a real tension there again, because the more we invest in things that ... take up that space in the gap of provincial supports, the more we're putting that burden onto taxpayers, the more we're becoming a hub for people to get those supports regionally and provincially."
Since 2022, the city has looked to combine three public spaces bylaws — Public Places Bylaw, Parkland Bylaw and Conduct of Transit Passengers Bylaw — into a unified bylaw that spells out clear enforcement strategies to regulate behaviour in public spaces.
Councillors on the committee made a number of amendments to the bylaw on Monday night, exempting feral cats from a rule against feeding wildlife, allowing roller-skating and skateboarding on sidewalks — but not cycling — and preserving Edmontonians's ability to exercise their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, among others.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend city council pass the amended bylaw later this month.
"This bylaw, at the end of the day, does help things be more clear and consistent," Rutherford said.
Some council members also discussed bringing forward subsequent motions related to its evaluation and effectiveness.
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With files from Madeleine Cummings