The Ontario government is inviting the public to weigh in on possible new measures that would address what it says are “growing concerns” about demonstrations blocking “key infrastructure” in Ontario. In an online post, the province said it is considering both legislative and non-legislative changes that “could address obstruction to such infrastructure and provide enforcement tools.” The first question posed to the public included whether the province should consider “legislated prohibition related to unauthorized, willful obstruction of a roadway, including overpasses/bridges, where the obstruction is intentional, cannot be easily avoided and blocks travel.” Another question asks if the province should institute a new provincial offence for those who don’t comply and create a requirement for individuals to provide identifying information “for the purposes of issuing a provincial offence notice.” Other ideas floated include developing new police authorities and creating new arrest powers for failing to comply. The infrastructure could include religious institutions, culturally-specific community centres, and schools, the province said. Speaking to Newstalk 1010’s Dub Hutton on Friday, Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said the province is trying to provide people with “barrier-free access” to infrastructure “without intimidation.” “We want to make sure that people don’t have the right to block a place of key infrastructure, a roadway, a bridge, a firehall, a house of worship, a school, a hospital,” he said. Kerzner asserted that the move is “not about restricting protests.” “I don’t think one person would give you a reason why they should be able to block the on-ramp to the Gardiner Expressway or to stand and block an ambulance from going from the Mount Sinai Hospital or the Hennick Humber Hospital,” Kerzner said. “Those days have to come to an end.” Kerzner said he did not know what the outcome would be with possible constitutional challenges to these proposed changes. “I don’t know what the courts will do but I know what the population wants,” he said, adding that he and the premier have received calls from Ontarians on this issue. He said asking the public to participate in the consultation process is “100 per cent the right way to do it.” “I’m proud to be part of a government, led by the premier, that itself won’t be intimidated to go forward with ideas, with consultation, because it is the right thing to do and yeah, I’m not going to stop,” Kerzner said. The province’s proposed measures come after Toronto City Council voted last year to create a bylaw that would limit protests outside places of worship and other vulnerable institutions on a case-by-case basis. Several members of city council did not support the decision, including Coun. Gord Perks. “If we don’t encourage the right to protest, we lose all the democratic rights that have been built up in Canada over time,” he said at the time. Other cities, including Vaughan and Brampton, both previously passed laws to limit demonstrations around places of worship after large-scale, and in some cases violent, protests broke out near synagogues and temples. The federal government has also vowed to create new criminal provisions against blocking access to places of worship, schools and community centres. Speaking about the federal government’s plan back in 2025, Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the fundamental freedoms program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, noted that even if a protest is disruptive, it is also protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of peaceful assembly. “As a parent myself, I know that any protest can be sometimes scary for a child. We’re talking about loud voices, huge crowds, emotions are running high,” she said. “So I believe it’s part of my role as a parent to teach my child about what living in a democracy means, why we need protests, why we need space in our society for strong language — including language that we disagree with — and to teach my child about what we can do if we personally disagree with speech that we hear.” With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
