New panhandling bylaw defeated on tie
meeting.
Motions like a bylaw need a majority to pass; tied votes amount to defeats.
The revised bylaw would have prohibited panhandling from anyone using an on-street parking pay station, waiting to use a pay station or accompanying someone using a pay station. Panhandling within eight metres of the entrance to a theatre or liquor store would also have been banned.
“That means the bylaw has been defeated at this time,” said Mayor Charlie Clark, who voted against the proposed new measures.
Coun. Darren Hill, who voted in favour of the proposed new restrictions, asked how long it will be before council can bring back the proposal; he was told one year. Greater restrictions on where panhandling can take place in Saskatoon were defeated in a tied vote Monday by Saskatoon city council.
Council had narrowly approved the new restrictions in a narrow 6-5 vote in January, but Coun. Troy Davies, a proponent for the changes, was absent from Monday’s
Councillors Cynthia Block Randy Donauer, Bev Dubois and Zach Jeffries also voted for the new restrictions, as they did in January, along with Davies.
Those who voted against the bylaw also remained the same as in January, with Clark joined by Councillors Sarina Gersher, Hilary Gough, Ann Iwanchuk and Mairin Loewen.
The proposed bylaw stemmed from an inquiry made in March 2015 by Brent Penner, executive director of the Downtown Saskatoon business improvement district.
City solicitor Patricia Warwick explained the parameters of what council can do to restrict panhandling. Panhandling is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a form of expression, Warwick explained.
Bylaws must focus on the efficient movement of pedestrians and on aggressive or coercive behaviour, she said, noting bylaws cannot be so strict they effectively prohibit panhandling. Saskatoon’s existing bylaw addresses coercive panhandling.
“It’s hard to say what goes too far,” Warwick said. This month, a constitutional challenge was mounted against Ontario’s panhandling law, she noted.