ANTI-ABORTION PROTESTER TARGETS ‘BUBBLE-ZONE’
Long-time demonstrator who faces charges, seen outside clinic
A new “bubble-zone” law protecting abortion clinics in Ontario has been challenged twice in Ottawa in the week it has been in effect, raising questions about how police should interpret the bill as protesters try to push the legal boundaries.
The Safe Access to Abortion Services Act, which came into effect Feb. 1, provides automatic 50-metre zones around eight abortion clinics in the province, including the Morgentaler Clinic on Bank Street.
But nearly a year after the Morgentaler Clinic went public with complaints about harassment and intimidation from protesters, Ottawa police are facing a new quandary: When and how does the new law apply in cases that aren’t clear-cut?
Cyril Winter, a longtime demonstrator outside the clinic, was arrested and charged with five offences Wednesday after he was spotted allegedly recording people passing by on the sidewalk and wearing a sandwich board that read “Freedom of Expression and Religion, No Censorship.”
The sign made no mention of abortion, but some passersby were still upset by his presence.
“He chose that specific location to deliver a specific message to people accessing that clinic. … How is this not menacing people accessing the clinic?” said Amanda Carver, who spotted Winter and took a photo.
The following day, Winter was seen at his regular spot outside the clinic, this time without signage and his back facing the building. Police received several complaints and attended the scene again, but did not announce any charges.
“It’s upsetting to me because he’s clearly just trying to defy the law,” Carver said. “He’s looking for the loophole. He’s still protesting.
“But the greater impact is how it’s affecting women accessing the clinic. At the end of the day, that’s the most important part.”
When reached Wednesday night, Winter, the first to be charged in Ottawa under the new law, said the target of his protest is no longer abortion, but the fundamental rights guaranteed to every Canadian under the charter.
‘“I really believe in free speech and the freedom to be where I am, in every square inch of Canada,” he said. “I’m beginning to wonder how free I am.”
Winter, 70, said he discussed his new sign with Ottawa police last Friday and felt he had their approval to be on the sidewalk, even though he would be inside the 50-metre bubble zone.
“I felt like I got sucker-punched, like it was entrapment. I mean, what’s going on?” he asked. “I feel betrayed.
“I thought I was being very, very careful. I was shocked to see police show up, en masse.”
Winter said he followed instructions not to film anyone entering the clinic or stare at passersby, or attempt to verbally engage any potential clinic clients. He denies trying to intimidate anyone going into the clinic, saying he was doing his best to keep his back turned, as police had instructed him.
When asked why he didn’t protest outside the bubble zone, he answered: “Why should I go away? That particular spot is where my rights were taken away. So it’s very important to me that I be there to make a statement about my charter rights.”
In an email Thursday, Ottawa police Sgt. Martin Groulx said, in relation to Wednesday’s arrest, they “did not give permission to anyone to violate the access zone.
“At this point, the facts of this matter will not be discussed as it will now proceed before the courts.”
In response to why Winter was not charged Thursday, police said they could not comment because “the return of the protester today is currently under investigation.”
Emmett Macfarlane, a University of Waterloo professor who has written a paper on abortion access in Canada, said the issue with the province’s “bubble zone” bill is not the existence of any “loophole,” but rather how the police and Crown interpret each case.
“The bill, I think, is quite appropriately tailored,” he said. “I think both police and the Crown are going to need to make case-by-case judgments about when and how the law applies.”
When it comes to an incident like Winter’s on Thursday, Macfarlane said police could have considered a number of contextual factors, such as whether they received complaints from clinic patients or staff.
“His presence might be a form of protest whether or not he’s providing explicit messaging. Maybe this might fall under the harassment provision of the act, where he’s returning to the scene after being charged.
“It’s a judgment police need to make in the context of receiving any complaints about his presence.”
Nonetheless, Macfarlane said the law is murky when it comes to just standing outside the clinic.
“I’ve read the act and it’s hard to say whether someone simply standing there in a public space or sidewalk would constitute advicegiving or a persuasive attempt at a message.”
In a statement on Thursday, the attorney general’s office said it could not comment on Winter’s case as it was before the courts, but said it believes its legislation “strikes the right balance between the right to freedom of expression and the need to protect access to abortion services in Ontario.”
The AG’s office provides a list of illegal activities within the “safe access zone” on its website. That includes advising someone not to access abortion services, videotaping or photographing them and repeatedly watching a clinic, or the people entering or leaving it, with the purpose of discouraging them from accessing abortion services.