St. Albert city council may soon debate a motion that would allow residents to express their political views with signs on their property.
Coun. Cam MacKay gave notice he would bring forward a motion to that effect at the Sept. 6 meeting, after residents Tara Seeger and former MP Brent Rathgeber spoke to council about this issue.
“I feel strongly enough about this issue to bring something forward,” he said.
Both Seeger and Rathgeber spoke to council about their concerns with existing city bylaws that prevent residents from putting up political signs on their residential properties, in the wake of Seeger’s ongoing struggle with the city about her “Save Canada Post” sign in support of door-to-door delivery.
Rathgeber, a lawyer, argued such a sign meets the definition of a “building” under city bylaws and as such theoretically requires a development permit, which would be impossible to obtain for such a sign. This effectively prohibits this form of political protest, something he said clearly violates Seeger’s Charter rights.
He said while courts have found there are reasonable limits that can be placed on such signs, he cited a precedent where the Supreme Court of Canada found the right to put up such a sign on residential property is guaranteed.
“As unpleasant as sign proliferation might be to some, we can all think of a greater harm – inability to protest one government’s action as a result of the actions of another government,” he said.
Seeger likewise took aim at the city’s land-use bylaw, and also with the “arbitrary nature” that the bylaw is enforced. She pointed to several similar signs that would similarly technically be non-compliant, for which no enforcement efforts have been taken.
“This opens the doors to acts of discrimination and organized censorship,” she said.
She said such signs are allowed in industrial and commercial areas and although one has the right to purchase advertising on a commercial billboard, only those who can afford to have options to get their message out.
“Yet those who do not have financial means, like myself, can’t even use their own front yard to express their concerns,” Seeger said.
Earlier this summer, the city’s bylaw enforcement staff told Seeger she had to remove her sign, as it was not compliant with the land-use bylaw because of a prohibition on third-party advertising. Her sign says “Save door-to-door,” with the website SaveCanadaPost.ca listed at the bottom – the prohibited advertising in question.
Several media outlets reported on her concerns after Mayor Nolan Crouse phoned her to confirm city bylaws required her to take the sign down and that the city would enforce it.
“I’ve got a responsibility to defend the bylaws that we have, whether I agree with them or don’t agree with them,” he told the Gazette at the time.
MacKay’s motion will be debated at a future council meeting.
