Saskatoon rejects request to create street harassment bylaw

Saskatoon councillors rejected a request to create a street harassment bylaw last week, as they look to get a better understanding of hate-motivated incidents in the city.

Members of the planning, development and community services committee debated Islamophobia and other hate-related incidents last Wednesday, after the National Council of Muslims introduced the issue last December requesting the city create a new bylaw to deal with street harassment.

Daniel Kuhlen, a Saskatoon-based lawyer with the organization, said hate-provoked harassment is happening in Saskatoon, and a bylaw for incidents that do not meet the threshold for a criminal charge is needed.

“This is a gap that renders victims powerless to seek any legitimate remedy for public conduct falling short of criminal harassment, which an anti-harassment bylaw would help to fill,” he said to the committee.

Saskatoon police Superintendent Patrick Nogier said the police service isn’t looking at introducing a street harassment bylaw since much of the responsibility of the bylaw already exists within the scope of the hate crime unit, created in January 2022.

He directed anyone who may have experienced a hate crime or related incident to the Saskatoon police website where they can report the incident in detail. A report before the committee stating police’s rejection of the bylaw said the hate crimes unit pores over all incidents.

“While every incident is perhaps not enough to warrant criminal charges, all incidents are being collated and analyzed,” the report read.

That didn’t satisfy Kuhlen.

“To tell somebody who's experienced odious public harassment that they should file an online report that would be ‘collated and analyzed’ is an empty gesture. It risks representing unacceptable institutional indifference and neglect,” Kuhlen said.

Nogier also voiced his concern the bylaw narrows the definition of hate to harassing a person of colour, versus any other crime. He says creating a bylaw could potentially lessen the penalty an attacker would receive with a fine or other non-Criminal Code violation.

“Arguably any crime that is committed has some element of hate associated to it,” he said, mentioning police have training specifically to identify components of hate in an interaction.

“If we create a bylaw, then it starts lessening what we think is trying to hold people accountable for hateful interactions.”

Kuhlen said all Regina, Calgary and Edmonton each have a bylaw to prevent bullying or harassment in public spaces. He also pointed to a recent Angus Reid survey on Islamaphobia in Canada which shows 44 per cent of Saskatchewan residents hold an “unfavourable” view of Islam.

“It can only help make our city better. Failing to do so would in our view, be an abdication of civic responsibility,” he said.

“We need to do better as a community and we can.”

Many of the councillors in the committee agreed there are gaps in the current system. Councillor Mairin Loewen felt more could still be done at a higher level.

“A street harassment bylaw may very well encourage more people to make reports of incidents that are concerning but not criminal. And it may very well send a message to the community but ultimately, it's still quite a reactive measure,” she said.

Coun. Cynthia Block wondered how the city can address the issue if administration and police don’t recommend a new bylaw.

“If a bylaw isn't the right thing, and I actually still think it might be, it's better to do something than to leave this gap,” Block said. “It is my hope that we find a way to close the gap so that we have an effective tool to manage this and to communicate strongly to our community that we expect better.”

However, by the end of the committee meeting, councillors stopped short of recommending administration to write the new bylaw.

The committee recommended city council forward the report to the diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee and to the Board of Police Commissioners so it can be discussed at a future meeting, in addition to reporting how the Saskatoon police considers the gap between hate incidents and hate crimes.