HST

Park board rapped over its ban on canvassing

by Charlie Smith on May 26th, 2010 at 5:32 PM
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      The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has written to the Vancouver park board to object to its handling of the HST initiative. In a May 20 letter, BCCLA president Robert Holmes cited a Georgia Straight report that the board has prevented registered canvassers from collecting signatures in the lobbies of Vancouver community centres.

      Holmes stated that the board cannot restrict people from “engaging in communicative and expressive activities that do not interfere with the operation of the community centre as a community centre”. That’s because the board is a public body that is “restrained” by the guarantee of freedom of expression in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

      “Such denial of access to public space for non-disruptive signature gathering, whatever the issue, is unconstitutional and must be corrected immediately,” Holmes wrote.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      glen p robbins

      May 28, 2010 at 5:54pm

      The Vancouver Park Board --- appears somewhat elitist and very undemocratic on this -- I mean why bother?

      Rob

      May 29, 2010 at 1:39am

      Remember the last civic election. The Park Board had pro-Park Board spending posters right outside the polling stations. That should have been a no-no as it was political and influencing the vote. If they can do it, then why can't the citizen's initiative?