On September 1, 2009 CCLA wrote to Regina’s City Council to ask that they repeal the city bylaw that is currently being used to prohibit panhandling. Although the issue of responding adequately to homelessness raises difficult public policy questions, it is quite clear that the use of a penal approach is not the answer. Begging has been ruled to be a form of expression, both for the poor – whomay have few means to communicate the urgency of the situation – and for those in society at large, who may not otherwise hear the message of such a marginalized community. Streets, parks and public spaces must be open to all forms of communication and prohibitions on begging constitute an infringement on expressive freedom. It is also clear that there are few demonstrable public policy benefits to the prohibition that could justify it in a free and democratic society.
To read CCLA’s letter to Regina City Council click here.
