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bubble zones Tag

12 Apr 2018 An Open Letter of Encouragement to Alberta’s Honorable Leader of the Opposition

Posted at 15:52h in Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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ARPA Canada routinely asks for you, our supporters, to submit respectful letters to our elected representatives. Every once in a while we see a fantastic example of winsome, principled, and respectful engagement. Below is one such example. Dear Mr. Kenney, I hope this message finds you well. It is with some trepidation that I write to you on the subject of your abstention from the NDP’s abortion clinic bubble zone Bill. Though I balk at the thought of sidestepping the opportunity to publicly question and critique such a law, your appraisal of the politics...

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13 Mar 2018 Man facing charges for violating pro-life censorship law passes away

Posted at 16:21h in Pre-Born Human Rights 2 Comments
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Cyril Winter One of the most recognizable pro-life activists in Ottawa has passed away. For much of the past seven years, Cyril Winter had been fixture outside the Morgentaler Clinic on Bank Street, holding various signs, with messages such as “Potential Life Destroyed” or “Choose God’s Love, Not Murder”, and often with images of aborted babies. Last month, Winter became the first person charged under Ontario’s “Safe Access to Abortion Services Act”, more colloquially known at the “Bubble Zone Law.” Winter was 70 years old. In what was likely his last media interview earlier...

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27 Oct 2017 Safe Access Zone Legislation is Unconstitutional: ARPA Canada Speaks to Committee

Posted at 16:35h in Bills and Motions, Blog, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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**UPDATE: Bill 163 passed in Ontario, regardless of our opposition** Ontario’s “Safe Access” legislation (Bill 163) proposes to ban all disapproval of abortion around abortion clinics, hospitals and pharmacies. The Standing Committee on General Government at Queen’s Park in Toronto studied the bill on October 19. The Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) on the committee heard from a variety of organizations on both sides of the issue and I was grateful for the opportunity to present ARPA Canada’s concerns. For more information on what “safe access” legislation is, you can read our...

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25 Oct 2017 Press Release: Ontario Government censors one side of abortion debate

Posted at 12:16h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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For immediate release from the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada October 25, 2017 Ontario Government censors one side of abortion debate Today the Ontario Liberals – with the help of all Opposition parties – passed Bill 163 by a vote of 86-1. This new law creates "safe access zones", also known as bubble zones, around abortion providers, prohibiting the expression of any dissenting view on abortion. “Censoring speech in certain areas, simply because you may not agree with that speech, is unconstitutional and violates free expression in the public square,” said Tabitha...

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24 Oct 2017 Banning pro-life info around abortion clinics

Posted at 11:35h in Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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ARPA made a presentation last week to the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on General Government. The topic was Bill 163 - Ontario's pending "bubble zone" legislation that would prohibit demonstrations outside abortion clinics in the province. The presentation was made by ARPA articling law student Tabitha Ewert, and she started by referencing this spring's court victory on Ontario's ban on the publication of abortion statistics. Here’s a partial transcript of what she said: The court found in that case that censoring of such data was an unconstitutional violation of free expression. In essence,...

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10 Oct 2017 Bubble Zone Law

Posted at 06:00h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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Tabitha Ewert, Articling Student The Ontario government is out with its long-promised "bubble zone" legislation to prohibit protests around abortion clinics. It’s called the "Safe Access to Abortion Services Act", and it sets strict limits around where protests can take place. The restriction around abortion clinics is automatic; a 50-metre zone that can be expanded up to 150 metres. Hospitals and places where abortions are performed, or where the abortion pill is prescribed can also apply to get an “access zone” designation. The law prohibits all pro-life messaging, without exception, in...

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13 Sep 2017 Ontario to introduce “Safe Access Zones” legislation targeting pro-lifers

Posted at 16:18h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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Take Action: Send an EasyMail letter to share your concerns about “Safe Access Zones” legislation with your Ontario MPP Ontario’s Minister of Justice, Yasir Naqvi, plans to introduce “Safe Access Zones” legislation – also referred to as “bubble zone” laws. This would prevent any pro-life messaging around abortion clinics, hospitals, and abortionists’ homes. This legislation is unnecessary, harmful, and even illegal. What is Safe Access Zones Legislation? Ontario is not the first province to introduce a bubble zone law. The proposed legislation will likely mirror BC’s Access to Abortion Services Act passed in 1996. This...

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05 Sep 2017 Feature Transcript: Popping the Bubble

Posted at 06:00h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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ARPA Canada lawyer, John Sikkema The Ontario government is set to introduce legislation this fall that would ban protests outside the province's abortion clinics. The government is justifying the need for the law by citing several protests that happened outside a clinic in Ottawa earlier this year, but ARPA's legal counsel, John Sikkema, has done some research on this situation. On the feature this week, he talks about the notion that the proposed law would not withstand a court challenge, based on several considerations. LN: "Safe Access Zones Legislation". It's kind of like...

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06 Jun 2017 Bubble zone legislation in Ontario

Posted at 06:00h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Pre-Born Human Rights 0 Comments
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ARPA's Director of Law and Policy, André Schutten The Ontario government has signaled that it plans to introduce a new law later this year to specifically ban protests outside all abortion clinics in the province. A so-called "bubble zone" is already in effect for the Morgentaler abortion clinic in Toronto due to a special court injunction, but there have been complaints about the actions of some protestors outside a clinic in Ottawa, so the government is moving to make the ban province-wide. ARPA's Director of Law and Policy, André Schutten, says there...

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