Saskatoon City Council Considers Regulating Distribution of Pro-Life Materials Citing Concerns Over ‘Graphic Images’

Demonstrators display signs in the March for Life event on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 11, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Saskatoon city council is considering restrictions on the distribution of pro-life materials in the city, citing concerns about the use of “graphic images” on flyers mailed to homes in a recent campaign.

Flyers were delivered to the homes of some Saskatoon residents by a pro-life organization around Aug. 10, the city said, which included depictions of aborted fetuses. The city said it received complaints from some residents, prompting council to raise the issue during its Sept. 9 governance and policy committee meeting.

Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois presented a motion asking city administration to “report back on options to regulate the delivery of flyers of this nature to the homes of residents of Saskatoon.” Her motion said the city currently lacks regulations to restrict or regulate “the graphic nature of these flyers.”

Dubois did not offer any other comments, while the only public speaker was Angie Kells, the president of the Saskatoon Abortion Support Network (SASN).

Saskatoon council later voted to approve Dubois’ motion.

Kells has created a petition demanding that council “protect Saskatoon from graphic images,” whether on flyers or large placards in public spaces.

She told council the SASN understands the proposed motion may hamper freedom of expression, but argued that Section 1 of the Charter allows for reasonable limits that are justified.

Kells said some other Canadian cities have created bylaws addressing the display and distribution of pro-life material. In May 2023, Calgary’s council passed a bylaw that restricted door-to-door distribution of pro-life flyers depicting images of fetuses, while such materials must be placed inside an opaque envelope with a warning about its contents. The envelopes must also contain the sender’s name and address.

Kells added that the support network wants bylaws restricting not only the distribution of pro-life pamphlets but also the public display of pro-life materials.

‘Viewpoint Discrimination’

Jack Fonseca, director of political operations with Campaign Life Coalition, said in an email that the council’s proposed regulation would amount to “unconstitutional censorship,” arguing that freedom of expression “is a core constitutional right upon which democracy itself stands.”

“The councillors supporting this move want to hide the reality of abortion and obstruct efforts to communicate the pro-life message, which is a form of viewpoint discrimination,” he said, noting that the over 100,000 babies are aborted in Canada annually.

Fonseca also said that approving the bylaw would make it easier for people “to distribute pornography in Saskatoon than pictures that reveal the humanity of the unborn child.”

While photos of aborted babies may make people uncomfortable, that is the price to pay “to have a truly free society where freedom of expression is safeguarded,” he said, adding that such disagreements must be debated publicly in a democracy.

Fonseca added that other Canadian cities that have imposed similar bylaws are now facing Charter challenges, while St. Catherines, Ont., repealed its bylaw on Aug. 12, 2024, after passing it on Sept. 25, 2023.