NEWS RELEASE
NIAGARA REGION ANTI-RACISM ASSOCIATION
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The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association suggested to Niagara Regional Council before its Thursday, Sept. 21 meeting to enact under anti-nuisance bylaws anti-harassment measures already enacted and tested by London, and anti-intimidation measures enacted by Calgary. The anti-harassment bylaw in London is based on a Niagara Parks court case against the late Fred Bracken, and has been successfully prosecuted. It would not rely on the Niagara Regional Police or the Ontario legislature but can be enforced by the Region itself.
Saleh Waziruddin, a member of the NRARA executive committee, explained “We don’t need to ask the police to be more ‘assertive’ or ask Queen’s Park to pass new legislation. London has shown the Region as a municipality has the power to protect residents from harassment and intimidation. Their by-law was based on a Niagara court case. If London residents can enjoy protection from a Niagara court case, why do Niagara residents deserve any less?”
A proposal to amend St. Catharines’s anti-nuisance bylaw with the language of the London bylaw was proposed by the City’s Anti-Racism Advisory Committee in the previous term of City Council, and it was referred to staff, but was never enacted.
Attachments:
- Letter to Regional Council from Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association
- London and Calgary bylaws/proposals
- Recommendation to St. Catharines by its previous Anti-Racism Advisory Committee to enact a similar bylaw amendment that was referred to staff but not enacted.
The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association was founded in the summer of 2018 on the principal that anti-racism should be BIPOC-led, and campaigns on police reforms, municipal anti-racism committees, employment equity, organizes speaker series and workshops, and supports individuals under racist attacks.
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