Editor:
In July of 2021 graphic anti-abortion material was delivered to my house, a home that clearly had small children (front yard is scattered with kids’ toys, etc). Thankfully, I found the pamphlet before my children did. Other families were not so lucky. Since that time I have been trying to convince the City of Burnaby to proactively deal with these sorts of graphic materials being delivered in Burnaby. These pamphlets have been handed out on multiple occasions in Burnaby as well as New Westminster and Coquitlam, going back several years now and continue to be a problem.
There have been several groups who have contacted the City of Burnaby in regards to these graphic pamphlets, with one group making a presentation to Council in early 2022. Unfortunately, Burnaby's staff report on the matter was rather dismissive of the impacts these flyers have and provided poorly researched and incorrect information to mayor and council.
Ultimately, the mayor and council took the advice of city staff and did not go forward enacting a bylaw addressing the delivery of graphic materials. In further correspondence with the city, the general manager of community safety, Dave Critchley, informed me that the CIty of Burnaby would "continue to monitor various aspects related to this matter."
On May 9, the City of Calgary unanimously voted in a graphic material bylaw, making it the third city in Canada to do so. These bylaws can be read here: https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/graphic-flyers.html
London, Ont., was the first of three cities to adopt such bylaws and there are two more cities in Ontario that will be voting on similar bylaws shortly. These bylaws do not prevent groups from delivering their pamphlets, but require that they must be placed in an opaque envelope, have a warning label and have contact information on the envelope. These bylaws balance freedom of speech with the protection of society and will go a long way to ensure people are not traumatized by such explicit materials.
I am hopeful that now that several cities have successfully and overwhelmingly adopted graphic flyer bylaws that the Burnaby's mayor and council will take notice and follow suit to adopt similar bylaws.
Keith Bemister
