CHP loses Hamilton sign battle

Interim Staff:

On March 18, the Ontario Court of Appeals upheld a Superior Court decision in favour of the City of Hamilton which censored a Christian Heritage Party of Canada advertisement defining a woman, that was intended for bus shelters in the southwestern Ontario city.

In January 2023, CHP Canada attempted to purchase advertising space in bus shelters in Hamilton for a poster with a smiling woman and the message, “Woman: An Adult Female.” The city of Hamilton rejected the ad saying that it was potentially offensive to some transit users and could cause psychological harm, with its final decision made in July of that year The CHP challenged the decision in court.

Counsel for the CHP argued that political parties have the right to publicly promote the “biological, biblical, and dictionary definition of a woman.”

Writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, Justice Lorne Sossin said the city of Hamilton’s determination was justified considering the city’s “statutory objective of ‘providing a safe and welcoming transit system’.” The judges accepted that the city came to its decision while “honour(ing) and carefully consider(ing)” the CHP’s Charter rights which were outweighed by the possibility of harm to transit users.

John Sikkema, lawyer for the Association for Reformed Political Action, an intervenor in the case, said “the court relies on what I think is shaky evidence that this advertisement, if allowed on public transit, would cause harm beyond mere offense to transit users who identify as transgender.” Sikkema suggested that the academic literature which the city put forward to justify its decision was not as robust as what the municipality implied.

A CHP statement on the decision lamented, “The Appeals Court supported the City of Hamilton in its ability to control messaging in public places in spite of the violation of free speech rights.”

CHP leader Rod Taylor said of the decision: “Today, free speech has been given a black eye by judges who neglected to recognize our constitutional rights.” Taylor elaborated: “Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience, freedom of association—all of these freedoms are listed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and are part of our great Canadian heritage—our Christian heritage. Yet we see today that political correctness and ‘woke’ ideology have infected not only our legislatures but also our courts.”

Taylor vowed that the CHP “will continue to stand for truth and freedom in spite of this setback” because “truth is too important to allow it to be censored.”

Read original article