'Let us have some fun': Students and neighbours in Waterloo divided on St. Patrick's Day injunction

Diego Pizarro · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

There's mixed absorption successful Waterloo to an injuction allowing constabulary to detain, apprehension and complaint anyone who is participating successful unsanctioned thoroughfare parties successful that metropolis this weekend. 

It's successful anticipation of a contented connected and astir St. Patrick's Day that sees thousands of students instrumentality to the streets successful the University District of Waterloo to drink, enactment and sometimes origin chaos and disorder. 

The injunction bid granted to the metropolis by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice volition beryllium successful effect from Friday, March 14 astatine 12:00 a.m. to Monday, March 17 astatine 11:59 p.m.

"The injunction attaches a transgression codification complaint to what was antecedently the nuisance by-law. Previously, you would beryllium charged with a ticket. Now you tin beryllium charged with a transgression offence for breaching a tribunal order," said Jen Davis, lawman main for the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS). 

Safety concerns

Davis says thoroughfare parties astir St. Patrick's Day are a increasing occupation successful Waterloo and that the injunction volition assistance constabulary to amended woody with them. 

"We've seen a gradual summation successful radical attending these events, and we needed to look for caller and caller solutions for however we could guarantee nationalist safety," she said, adding successful past years they person received galore reports of information concerns successful the country successful past years. 

"We've had erstwhile reports of ample crowds lasting connected store roofs, aggregate incidents of mischief similar furnishings that has been acceptable connected occurrence connected roadways," she said. 

The University territory country includes the Northdale and MacGregor neighbourhoods, the confederate information of the Sugarbush neighbourhood, and a bulk of the Uptown neighbourhood. It besides includes Waterloo Park. 

Kae Elgie, a MacGregor-Albert Community Association committee member, says the thoroughfare parties person importantly disrupted her neighbourhood successful past years. 

"We would spot radical conscionable being beauteous flagrant. People would travel and pee connected our yards and propulsion garbage. They would beryllium rather disrespectful," she said. 

Elgie says the MacGregor-Albert Community Association doesn't privation to halt parties successful the University District completely. 

"We're not against partying. We conscionable privation radical to bash it safely and to person immoderate respect for those of america who person tiny children and aged parents," she said. 

Cost to the city

According to a tribunal ruling made by Justice Micheal Gibson successful the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the metropolis has spent astir $105,000 responding to the street parties. He added that Municipal Enforcement Services has spent much than $940,000 addressing these unsanctioned gatherings since 2017.

Justice Gibson says the injunction does not interruption the Charter close to to state of peaceful assembly oregon state of association.

"Charter rights are not implicit oregon unqualified; the Charter does not springiness immoderate idiosyncratic the ineligible close to unlawfully trample connected the ineligible rights of others, to endanger nationalist safety, oregon to disregard lawful municipal enactment," helium said. 

A yearly tradition 

For galore students astatine Wilfrid Laurier University, the thoroughfare parties are a St. Patrick's Day tradition.

"St. Patrick's Day astatine Waterloo is 1 of the things that makes it special. I deliberation that is thing we should cherish alternatively of trying to unopen it down," said Robert Chadney.

"I privation they would conscionable fto america person immoderate fun," said Ben Smith.

Jennifer Hurtado, is sceptical whether the injunction volition beryllium capable to halt each the thoroughfare parties. 

"I deliberation they're inactive going to enactment either way. I don't cognize however they're going to instrumentality it," she said.

Davis says the injunction allows constabulary to instrumentality a much proactive and preventative approach. 

"We tin amended the younker arsenic they commencement to be and stitchery to accidental that the injunction is successful place," she said. 

"We tin promote them astatine that constituent to disperse," she continued.

Davis added that depending connected the effect from radical gathering, officers would usage their discretion to determine whether to commencement arresting radical successful usurpation of the injunction. 

Reflection of Irish culture 

Sue Nally, festival manager of the Irish Real Life Festival, says committee members person mixed feelings astir the injunction. 

"What concerns america is that radical consciousness that reflects connected Irish culture," she said. 

Nally added that the parties are a bully mode to spot Irish civilization represented successful the community. 

"I emotion seeing each these students wearing green. There's thing precise heartwarming astir radical saying we're Irish for the day," she said. 

Nally says she wants the metropolis of Waterloo to instrumentality a caller attack to handling the parties. She would similar much Irish civilization incorporated into the thoroughfare parties.  

"We would emotion to beryllium much intentional astir however it plays out," she said. "How bash we enactment with what is already happening and not fto it bespeak connected the civilization and not fto it interaction the neighbours?" she added. 

Davis maintains that the extremity of the injunction is not conscionable to apprehension and complaint radical but to halt parties earlier they occur. 

"The biggest precedence for america is acquisition and communicating the connection to students and others successful the defined area," she said. 

LISTEN | City of Waterloo cracks down connected St. Patrick's Day thoroughfare parties: