London group to screen documentary on what it did to ban graphic anti-abortion flyers

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 2:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 13

The aforesaid week a pro-life enactment said it had started litigation against the City of London for banning its material, the activists who fought for the prohibition are screening a documentary astir however they did it.

Viewer Discretion: The London Situation tells the communicative of the Viewer Discretion Legislation Coalition (VDLC) which formed successful 2020 aft London residents started uncovering flyers featuring graphic full-colour images successful their mailboxes.

They were being delivered by an Alberta-based anti-abortion group. 

"Citizens were perfectly outraged due to the fact that their children were uncovering them," said VDLC co-founder Katie Dean. "People who had gone done gestation nonaccomplishment were uncovering them. These were precise triggering images." 

After learning the flyers were being distributed successful a fig of large cities crossed Canada portion facing nary ineligible challenge, Dean formed the radical and started to entreaty for London's metropolis assembly to code the issue. 

Council yet developed a bylaw successful Dec. 2023 requiring graphic images to beryllium afloat concealed successful envelopes marked with a warning. Those opposed raised concerns implicit state of expression rights. 

Possible tribunal situation to London's ban

Now, the Association of Reformed Political Action (ARPA) hopes to instrumentality the contented to the courts, saying it has filed a announcement of application this week challenging the constitutionality of the ban.

It argues municipalities person nary close to dictate state of conscience and religion and state of expression.

"They besides reason that a municipality does not person the law authorization to modulate the organisation of lit based connected the City's judgement of what circumstantial content, constituent of view, oregon taxable substance is objectionable oregon offensive," ARPA's John Sikkema wrote successful a statement.

"ARPA contends that the bylaw's existent quality and intent is to suppress pro-life content."

The determination to present the ban successful London did received enactment from 1 provincial person who hoped it would go instrumentality successful Ontario. London North Centre NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan introduced a private member's measure but it failed to get a 2nd reading. 

The City of St. Catharines besides repealed its graphic representation bylaw past year. It was besides facing the imaginable of a tribunal challenge. 

But Dean is unperturbed and says the communicative told successful the documentary is astir section activists making change. 

"Viewer consent matters," said Dean. "They tin present them, but radical successful their homes person the close to decided whether they privation to spot it oregon not.

"I conscionable don't privation radical to hide the enactment that's been done. Let's not springiness up." 

Viewer Discretion: The London Situation premiers Saturday astatine noon astatine the Hyland Cinema successful London. It is escaped for the nationalist to attend.