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‘Embarrassing’ new bylaw in Taber, Alberta outlaws swearing, restricts public assembly

Rick Grimes

By Rick Grimes
in Off-Topic General

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Rick Grimes Canucks Third-Line

Rick Grimes

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http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1307772/embarrassing-new-bylaw-in-taber-alberta-outlaws-swearing-restricts-public-assembly/

This brought my piss to a boil, what a bunch of uptight prudes.

With a sweeping new bylaw, the southern Alberta town of Taber has outlawed swearing in public, instituted a nightly curfew on kids and teenagers, and granted local law enforcement the power to break up any assemblies of three or more people.

The new “Community Standards Bylaw” is clearly unconstitutional, said Lisa Lambert, a PhD candidate and instructor in political science at the University of Calgary, who lives in Coaldale, about 35 kilometres west of Taber.

“Little towns get bad names because of this kind of nonsense,” Lambert said. “This is so embarrassing."

The way the bylaw is worded, even whispering a curse word in public could land you a $150 fine, Lambert noted, while events like bake sales and car washes could be caught up under the “panhandling” definition.

There’s “just no way” it would stand up to a Charter challenge, she added.

Taber chief administrative officer Greg Birch said the bylaw was drafted in part by the Taber Police Service “to provide for better and more consistent oversight, bylaw enforcement and policing of various matters,” according to town council minutes.

Neither the Taber mayor, nor the police commission chairman, nor the lone town councillor to vote against the bylaw (which passed by a 6-1 margin) replied to interview requests Monday.

Mayor Henk De Vlieger offered tentative support for the bylaw, according to the local newspaper.

“I’m not saying this thing is perfect, but I think we should give it a chance and try it out, and let the police work with it,” he was quoted as saying in the Taber Times. “After a period of time, we might make some adjustments, but let’s see how it works.”

Coun. Joe Strojwas was the lone voice of dissent on Taber council, according to the newspaper, raising concerns over several aspects, including the fines for graffiti that begin at $2,500 and escalate to $7,500 for a third offence.

“Generally, graffiti is done by 12 or 13 year old kids,” Strojwas was quoted as saying. “Do I gather if they get caught doing that they get a $2,500 fine? Do their parents have to pay that?”

The bylaw defines a daily “curfew period” between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. during which time anyone under the age of 16 is prohibited from being in a public place unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Exceptions to the curfew are made for minors who are “involved in an emergency” or travelling in a motor vehicle “from one point to another without any detour” or “acting in the interests of an employer or voluntary organization.”

Adults are also prohibited from assembling in a public place in a group of three or more where a peace officer “has reasonable grounds to believe the assembly will disturb the peace of the neighborhood,” according to the section of the bylaw that deals with “Assembly of Persons.”

Taber is a town of 8,000 people located about 250 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

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Ghostsof1915 Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Ghostsof1915

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If I was 12 I'd file a lawsuit saying it's unconstitutional, just to prove a point.

If I was a lawyer I'd work to get it thrown out pro-bono. Stupid local governments think they can do what they want.

This is why you have to vote locally, to make sure idiots like this don't get into government.

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LuonGO Canucks Go Abbotsford Regular

LuonGO Canucks Go

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I thought I left India 12 years ago. There this happens at local level, stupid by laws. So as some one above said what is a curse word, what is included or what is not. And if a city official is coming out a part with 4 of his/ her friends to get in one single car to go home should a police officer Tell them to walk separately and to take different cabs to go home.

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Chalky Canucks Third-Line

Chalky

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I drive through Taber when I'm on the road in Alberta and it feels like a backwards farming town. They do have the Taber Police to enforce these bylaws though, so I can honestly say, I'm going stay the hell away from Taber. Taber has now instituted the Roman Catholic version of Sharia law. Sounds oppressive. I doubt it stands up against a Constitutional challenge.

Please enjoy this wonderful video of Taber from the Youtube..

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BlackRedYellow Abbotsford Regular

BlackRedYellow

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I drive through Taber when I'm on the road in Alberta and it feels like a backwards farming town. They do have the Taber Police to enforce these bylaws though, so I can honestly say, I'm going stay the hell away from Taber. Taber has now instituted the Roman Catholic version of Sharia law. Sounds oppressive. I doubt it stands up against a Constitutional challenge.

Please enjoy this wonderful video of Taber from the Youtube..

::D

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thejazz97 Canucks All-Star

thejazz97

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I drive through Taber when I'm on the road in Alberta and it feels like a backwards farming town. They do have the Taber Police to enforce these bylaws though, so I can honestly say, I'm going stay the hell away from Taber. Taber has now instituted the Roman Catholic version of Sharia law. Sounds oppressive. I doubt it stands up against a Constitutional challenge.

Catholic State of Taber?

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Monty Canucks All-Star

Monty

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meh, small town's gonna small town.

Exactly how I feel. I live in a town/city of 13,000 just outside Winnipeg. It's just the way it is. There's positives to small towns and negatives. While my wife and I are no saints, we would never swear in public anyway. It's trashy and rude. If my town instigated a "no swearing policy", while I'm no prude, I certainly wouldn't be against it. Positive is that I get to walk around without hearing teenagers swear at their parents and trailer trash ruining my grocery shopping run.

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Rick Grimes Canucks Third-Line

Rick Grimes

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Exactly how I feel. I live in a town/city of 13,000 just outside Winnipeg. It's just the way it is. There's positives to small towns and negatives. While my wife and I are no saints, we would never swear in public anyway. It's trashy and rude. If my town instigated a "no swearing policy", while I'm no prude, I certainly wouldn't be against it. Positive is that I get to walk around without hearing teenagers swear at their parents and trailer trash ruining my grocery shopping run.

Are they going to start removing all televisions from people's homes and start closing down theaters and arenas next?

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Ghostsof1915 Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Ghostsof1915

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Kids do stuff like graffiti because they have "nothing to do". Instead of fines. How about 250 to 750 hours of community work.

PAINTING. First thing they have to do is paint over their own graffiti. Then paint the community centre, schools etc. That way they learn something useful, heck learn to do install drywall as well. 250 hours at 5 hours a day is 50 days of hard work. What good is a fine when it's mommy and daddy pay it?

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