Community standards bylaw passes with amendments

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2023 (1149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new bylaw increasing standards for property upkeep and adding things like loitering, panhandling and graffiti to the list of offences Brandon Police Service officers can hand out tickets for is set to take effect after being passed by city council on Monday night.

However, a lengthy debate spawned a discussion on several amendments before the passage of the bylaw.

Resident James Epp’s presentation expressing concerns about potential legal and ethical ramification of the bylaw was not enough to dissuade councillors from approving the bylaw by a 9-1 margin.

Epp was joined by a couple of other residents, who voiced their own concerns about the bylaw during the community comments portion of the meeting.

Brandon City Council has been discussing revisions to the bylaw since last year, though changes have been under consideration for multiple years. When it was given second reading last December, wording was added to add snow clearing requirements to the property standards section of the legislation.

It came up for third reading last month, but passage was delayed after some councillors expressed concern that the city would be unable to live up to the standards being set when it came to its own snow clearing responsibilities.

An amendment changing the definition of loitering under the bylaw proposed by Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) at Monday’s meeting was passed.

Coun. Heather Karrouze (Ward 1) tried to remove panhandling from the bylaw entirely, but her amendment was not passed. Only Karrouze voted in favour of her own amendment.

There was also an amendment proposed by Coun. Shawn Berry (Ward 7), who wanted the property standards to be spelled out in a way that made it clear it applied to land that does and does not have buildings sitting on it. This amendment was passed unanimously.

Last week, the Sun published a story where Toronto-based civil litigator Stephany Mandin expressed concern that the bylaw could open the city up to challenges under the Charter of Rights and Freedom as municipalities in Ontario have experienced after passing similar legislation.

Brandon University sociology professor Christopher Schneider said in the same article that he was worried the bylaw would give police too much discretionary power because of the broad language used.

On Monday, Epp told councillors that his concerns included the bylaw’s compatibility with the Charter. He said his complaints were with the standard bylaw itself and not the compliance bylaw that defines penalties for violating the standards, which he said he had not studied to the same extent.

He said some of the offences added in the bylaw are already listed under the criminal code, meaning officers should already have the discretion to enforce them.

» Read more in Wednesday’s edition of the Sun.