If city council approves a new nuisance bylaw next week, Andrew Nellis plans to stand outside city hall shouting profanities until he gets a ticket so he can challenge the new law in court.
Nellis, spokesperson for the Ottawa Panhandlers’ Union, said the wording over the bylaw is too vague and will be used to target poor people whom business and property owners see as nuisances.
The intent of the bylaw is to give Ottawa police an option for dealing with loud, boisterous and disorderly conduct in the ByWard Market after restaurants and pubs close, said Linda Anderson, the city’s chief of bylaw and regulatory services.
“What we have right now is the noise bylaw. It refers to shouting. There are other kinds of activities that happen that fall outside of that,” she said. “This would permit us to be able to address those issues.”
If the bylaw is approved, the city is proposing a $250 charge with a victim surcharge of around $50 on top of that. There is a similar bylaw that applies to behaviour in city parks.
