Calgary mayor wants anti-drag protesters to face consequences for hateful messaging

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says she will "unpack" the reasons why enforcement teams and the Crown feel the street harassment bylaw along with others are not strong enough to charge demonstrators who spread vile lies and hatred in public.

This comes in the wake of several demonstrations targeting drag shows, claiming they sexualize children.

Gondek hit back, calling those claims hateful.

"Asking me to be patient and saying 'we got this' didn't work," Gondek tweeted Sunday.

"These are not peaceful protests. This is hate."

She further added that "we are pretending we can't take action against it."

On Saturday, police were called to the Seton public library at 11:15 a.m. for a disturbance.

"While officers were attending the library to check on a planned demonstration, we were called to the library for reports that several individuals had entered the library, caused a disturbance and subsequently refused to leave," said a Calgary police spokesperson.

"Upon arrival, officers spoke with protesters, who agreed to leave the facility. Following the altercation, officers remained on scene to ensure public safety and gather additional evidence."

Since then, police have launched a criminal investigation.

"(We) continue to review witness statements, video footage and other evidence from this event to determine any potential charges," said the spokesperson.

"Our hate crimes co-ordinator will be reviewing all evidence to determine if any individual's actions met the threshold to be considered a hate-motivated crime."

Police say they recognize the frustrations held by the mayor and others for a perceived lack of enforcement but the officers' main jobs at these demonstrations is to maintain public safety.

Derek Reimer, with Exposing the Darkness, was one of the protesters who could be seen in a video being physically removed by attendees and thrown to the ground.

He told CTV News earlier this month the drag events are causing harm to children.

One political scientist at the University of Calgary says Gondek wants to see vitriol against marginalized groups come to and end.

"What we are seeing from the mayor here is an effort to send strong signals of her displeasure with the protesters and events being cancelled and with what she says, with some reason, is hate speech," said Lisa Young.

Earlier this month, Gondek was confronted by one protester, identified as Larry Heather, who questioned her on her support for the drag events.

She responded, before speaking with a nearby police officer and saying she felt she was being harassed.

"Female politicians, people of colour are subjected to a different level of protest and threat and sometimes harassment," Young said.

Justice studies professor Doug King at Mount Royal University says Gondek could add flames to the fire and entice protesters to come out in bigger numbers, making it harder for bylaw and police to enforce the measures.

"The more someone in elected office complains about these rallies and these counter-rallies and things like that, the more likely it is it will energize them," King said.

"Which can actually make the enforcing of the bylaw more challenging."

King believes the bylaw will be tested in court to determine whether it's strong enough.

"We have to be mindful that freedom of expression in Canada is not unfettered," King said.

"It can be reasonably infringed."

Gondek declined an interview request on what she plans to uncover about the reasons why the bylaw may not be strong enough to enforce.