Just over two months ago, Nanaimo’s city council made a decision, the controversy of which was only matched by the lack of reporting on the issue. This lack was impressive, as in the space of 20 minutes, the council managed to deny a group of Nanaimo residents four of their basic rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadian journalist Ezra Levant went so far as to call the act the “most disgraceful act of discrimination I can recall in Canada in my life.”

So what was this act? A church group was planning to simulcaste an American leadership conference whose sponsors included Chick-fil-A, a company whose chief operating officer made public statements opposing same-sex marriage two years ago. In response, council member Fred Pattje proposed a resolution banning “any events that are associated with organizations or people that promote or have a history of divisiveness, homophobia, or other expressions of hate” from the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. 

Over the next 20 minutes, all of which can be viewed on the city of Nanaimo’s website, the council made no effort to debate the issue, and appeared to dedicate the time to how they would implement the ban and why it was important. This was done despite the fact that, as mentioned, the conference was not of a religious nature, but a leadership conference, and past speakers have included renowned social rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu. 

To guarantee the rights of one group at the cost of another undermines the equality in our democracy.

One councillor, Jim Kipp, was in favour of the motion because he “[would not] accept if a criminal organization wants to come into our community” and compared the strong Christian organization to the terrorist kidnapping of Nigerian girls by Boko Haran. Councillor Bill Bestwick believed that “it would be more effective to blackout [. . .] because we don’t support it,” essentially moving for a motion of government sponsored censorship.

One might ask if there were any voices of dissent during this meeting, and indeed a single voice, that of Councillor Bill McKay, stood against the ban and questioned why neither representatives of the conference nor the church were invited to the meeting. Pattje responded by claiming that their presence at the meeting was irrelevant, but in reality it amounted to nothing more than a trial where the defence was not even present.

Only three days before the conference was scheduled to broadcast, ordinary residents of the city who had paid $60 a person to attend were informed that the event would not be taking place. Worse than that, the council’s decision labelled them as hate-mongers and violated many of their basic human rights as guaranteed by Canadian law. 

Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association. All of these rights were violated by the city council’s decision. Even if we accept their premise regarding the Chick-fil-A position on same-sex marriage as justification for the ban, this ban still violates the freedom of association of those who wished to attend, as one cannot be punished for the actions or opinions of those they associate with.

In the name of tolerance and inclusiveness, Nanaimo city council has chosen to become intolerant and exclusive. One cannot guarantee the rights of one group at the cost of another. To do so undermines the equality that is a necessary prerequisite of our democratic tradition. Perhaps the city council should add itself to the list of groups banned for promoting divisiveness, because they have done exactly that.