Legal group is suing parliamentary police for allegedly banning Pro-Life signs at rally
A legal group has filed a constitutional complaint against parliamentary police for allegedly banning a pro-life group from displaying signs depicting abortion at the annual March for Life rally in Ottawa in May.
The Justice Center for Constitutional Liberties (JCCF) announced on July 6 that it challenges the Parliamentary Protection Service (PPS) for allegedly blocking a “pro-life group from displaying images of aborted fetuses at its press conference on Parliament Hill ahead of the National March for Life in May 2023.”
The JCCF identified the group as Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), a national Christian and pro-life advocacy organization that organizes the annual March for Life in Ottawa.
JCCF says CLC organized a press conference on May 10, the day before the rally. CLC planned to display signs with images of “abortion victims at various stages of development” at the conference, JCCF said.
“Prior to the press conference, an OM officer viewed the signs. He then banned the group from displaying the signs on Parliament Hill because they were too graphic,” JCCF said in a press release. Edition on July 6.
The legal group added that the OM’s decision to ban the signs was later confirmed in a email on May 10a copy of which the JCCF has provided in the press release.
In the email, the OM official referred to a policy under the “General rules for using Parliament Hillguidelines banning the display of signs on Parliament Hill that are deemed “obscene, offensive or hate speech”.
The rules were last updated on May 3 and they now also prohibit “signs or banners that graphically depict violence or gore are prohibited.”
A note below the line adds that organizers of protests or demonstrations “may be asked to share images they intend to show before they are approved.”
The PPS officer added that the protection service would also enforce the rules for all protesters attending the March for Life.
The JCCF says a notice of application was filed in federal court on June 30 on behalf of both CLC and a woman who attended the protest and intended to hold the banned signs at the rally.
“The notice of application challenges both versions of the general rules governing the use of Parliament Hill and the action of the prosecution to prevent the applicants from using the graphic characters to convey their message,” the JCCF said.
The Epoch Times contacted the prosecution for comment on the matter, but did not hear back before publication.
