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Bylaws changed to protect lawful protesters – Metro US

Bylaws changed to protect lawful protesters

Vancouver has tweaked its controversial Olympic bylaws to ensure they target ambush marketers and not citizens engaged in lawful protest, the city said yesterday.

But the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which supports two activists who are suing the city over the bylaws’ constitutionality, called the 11th-hour response “a delay tactic” to ensure the lawsuit does not make it to court.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a release that the city has already made a number of changes after a July council debate.

The changes include reducing the areas of the city impacted by the bylaws, the length they stay in effect and clarification to ensure that they target commercial advertisers, not political expression. Robertson also promised Vancouver would not use its power to jail people for bylaw violations.