Press Room

CLC staff at the 2023 Press Conference on Parliament Hill. Photo/ CLC

OTTAWA – Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) is celebrating a significant legal victory after the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled on June 11 that the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) violated the Charter-protected freedom of expression rights of CLC and one of its members by prohibiting signs expressing opposition to abortion at a 2023 Parliament Hill event.

“This is an important victory not only for Campaign Life Coalition, but for every Canadian who believes Parliament Hill must remain a place where one can speak freely on the issues that matter most—in this case, the right to life,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition.

“The Court has confirmed that government officials cannot censor political expression simply because they find the message uncomfortable, difficult, or controversial. This is a big win for life and for free-speech rights. This ruling is especially important at a time when freedom of expression and pro-life advocacy are increasingly under pressure in Canada.”

CLC staff at the 2023 Press Conference on Parliament Hill. Photo/ CLC

The Court held that the PPS decision infringed section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was not justified under section 1. The ruling rejected the use of broad and subjective standards to censor political expression on Parliament Hill. The judge found that abortion victim photography is not obscenity and does not promote hatred and that PPS was unreasonable to adopt a subjective standard.

The case arose from a May 2023 press conference organized by CLC ahead of the annual National March for Life. CLC planned to display signs depicting the victims of abortion at various stages of development. Before the press conference began, a PPS officer inspected the signs and prohibited their display, claiming they were too graphic to be shown on Parliament Hill.

“Abortion is not an abstract issue,” said CLC’s Maeve Gainey (then Roche) who was prevented from displaying the images. “It has real victims. The images PPS tried to censor due to a bad policy reveal the truth about what abortion does to preborn children. We do not display these images because they are pleasant. We display them because they are true.”

Gunnarson said that Parliament Hill has long been a place where Canadians gather to communicate political messages directly to lawmakers and to the public. “We are pleased that the Court recognized that constitutional freedoms cannot be restricted through subjective and unpredictable censorship.”

Campaign Life Coalition was represented by constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir. The case was funded by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

Access photos from the 2023 Press Conference here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/campaignlife/albums/72177720316866512/