In the 1994 Ontario Supreme Court case, Ontario (Attorney-General) v. Dieleman, the Attorney General of Ontario characterized “all anti-abortion protesting as harassing and intimidating, no matter how peaceful the protest.” Despite this nearly thirty years later, anti-abortion groups continue to organize and demonstrate in public spaces, including school zones across Canada.

Show the Truth Canada has been travelling to various Canadian cities employing different forms of anti-abortion activism, including holding up large, graphic signage of apparently aborted fetuses. During their regular Fall Missions, this pro-life organization has protested within school zones, just beyond school property boundaries. This has included the Peterborough area, as stated in their related Facebook posts from October 17, 2017, “Yesterday, our team went to three different high schools in Peterborough, Ontario to show students the truth of abortion” and from Oct. 29, 2020, “We took our signs to local schools in order to reach teenagers with the truth of abortion.”

In 2019, a similar anti-abortion group protested in high school and elementary school zones in Calgary, which caused community problems including arguments between students and protesters, students being filmed by protesters, and anxiety or depression experienced by students or staff. As a result, a bylaw amendment was passed in Calgary that prohibits any public protest signage larger than 3.5 by 5 inches within 150 metres of a school on a school day. 

The city’s amendment report stated that “Advocacy messaging creates a captive audience of often young, psychologically unprepared viewers who become unwilling viewers of the messaging because they cannot avoid being exposed to it.” 

Current laws in Canada protect patients at abortion clinics from anti-abortion protests by providing a fifty-metre “safe zone.” In relation to the 2019 anti-abortion protest in Calgary, it was recommended by Alberta Party candidate, Angela Kokott, that more legislation to prohibit demonstrations in school zones be considered. 

Kokott was quoted by CTV News Calgary on March 14, 2019 “These kids are walking out on the sidewalk…they have no choice to say, ‘no I don’t want to see it,’ it’s right there in their face.” 

Recently, I have been investigating the regular occurrence of similar anti-abortion protests in school zones in Peterborough and wondering whether they are peaceful and if they should continue to be permitted by the city. We reached out to some North-end schools and daycares, local school boards, city councillors, mental health practitioners, and advocates as well as the Peterborough Police for comment.

Greg Kidd, Corporate Affairs Executive Officer of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB), provided a statement that emphasized that the KPRDSB “respects the right of groups to peacefully protest” as long as it takes place off of school property:

His statement continued to note that “In events of this nature, student safety and well-being is always our first priority. We monitor the situation closely to ensure individuals participating in the protest remain off school property and do not interfere with the ability of students, staff and visitors to safely enter or exit the school. Recognizing that these activities can affect students in different ways, we also encourage students to reach out to a staff member or the main office if they need support.”

Galen Eagle, Communications Manager of the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB), provided a strikingly similar statement, which also recognized “the right of groups to peacefully protest” as long as they do so off of school grounds.

Sandra Dueck, the Corporate Communication Coordinator of the Peterborough Police Service, provided a statement that emphasized the Service’s responsibility in ensuring “the safety of all residents in its policing jurisdictions” and that officers would respond to any peaceful assembly activity that resulted in a call for service.

Although the rights of anti-abortion activists to protest, however peacefully, across school zones in Peterborough are certainly being upheld, the question of whether the safety rights of students, staff, and residents are being equally considered?  

As Kidd mentioned, the safety and well-being of students should always be a top priority. Despite the fact these apparently peaceful anti-abortion protests may pose no physical safety threat to the community, there are questions surrounding the psychological safety of students, staff, and residents. 

That the KPRDSB anticipates that the anti-abortion protests with graphic signage of apparently aborted fetuses may affect the student well-being and encourages them to reach out for support indeed speaks to a recognition of the potential harmful psychological effects of such protests. 

Trent’s Active Minds, a non-profit organization that focuses on action and student advocacy in mental health by facilitating free and open discussion stated that they “condemn the anti-abortion protests that have happened in school zones in Peterborough over the last few years.”

Joy Lachica, Peterborough City councillor for Town Ward had much to say about the topic during a recent  interview. Prior to becoming a councillor, Lachica was a teacher for more than twenty years and is also a parent. Although she says it’s important to respect the diverse religious beliefs and family values of our communities, the question of whether these protests should be happening within school zones really comes down to the safety and protection (rights) of children, while in their learning environment: 

“The school zone is a safe zone, and it’s not an adult public area [for] outside individuals or groups that may have their goals and intentions, with their own beliefs and value systems, to be on borders and boundaries, interacting [or] engaging with students,” Lachica explained.

Lachica went on to state that the safety and protection of children is legally required within school boundaries as well as within the surrounding school zones, and that parents should be able to trust that when they send their children to school, they are continuously protected throughout the instructional day.

While she acknowledges that there may be some debate over what constitutes school property versus public property in conversations around the responsibility for the safety and well-being of students, Lachica feels that it is important for all of us to monitor what our children are experiencing, whether they’re “at school, at home, or in between” In order for there to be changes made at any level whether legislative or institutional, with regards to anti-abortion protests occurring within school zones, she says an expression of opposition and concern on the part of Peterborough parents and families will be needed. 

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