Calgary council moves closer to adding restrictions on anti-abortion flyers sent to homes

Calgary city council will soon debate a bylaw that would result in restrictions against groups that deliver flyers possessing graphic images on them to homes.

An amendment to a bylaw could see more rules placed on groups that mail out flyers containing images of fetuses to Calgary homes.

A meeting of the City of Calgary's community development committee voted unanimously on Thursday to send the proposed bylaw to council next month.

The bylaw amendment – called Regulating the Unsolicited Distribution of Graphic Images Depicting a Fetus – would modify Calgary's Community Standards Bylaw to regulate any organization that uses graphic images of fetuses on their flyers.

The amendment "would require that flyers showing graphic images of fetuses be concealed in an opaque envelope bearing a graphic content warning and the name and address of the sender with a $1,000 specified penalty for not meeting every requirement," the city document reads.

The document went on to say that such flyers "have caused harm to some recipients and can be deeply traumatizing for young children and those who have experienced pregnancy loss, among others."

The bylaw wouldn't prevent the flyers being sent out, but instead "establish rules for their delivery."

It would only apply to flyers being distributed to property owners, according to the city.

"A person handing out flyers on a public sidewalk or roadway will not be subject to the restrictions in the proposed bylaw amendments," the bylaw reads.

The committee meeting also included public feedback on the proposal, in which residents said they should have the right to choose what sort of content they are exposed to at their homes.

"This content can cause mental and emotional harm to children and families and should not be shown in public. We have graphic warnings and ratings for movies and other content and there should be the same bylaws regarding mail," one submission read.

Another submission suggested such materials should be banned from distribution altogether, but the bylaw "is a step in the right direction."

The committee meeting also received input from the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), which said it "strongly supports the passage" of the proposed bylaw.

It said if Calgary's bylaw was approved, it would be similar to the same legislation passed in other Canadian communities such as London, Ont.

London's Graphic Image Delivery Bylaw was passed last May and was aimed at preventing such materials from causing harm to its residents.

Some critics said the bylaw would result in court challenges, but ARCC says that hasn't happened.

"To our knowledge, there has been no legal action in London by the anti-abortion group who had been delivering the flyers, as well as no further delivery of the flyers there. It is possible that the extra expense of the envelope/wrapper may be a strong deterrent," the submission read.

The bylaw will now be debated at Calgary city council in the coming weeks.