Edmonton Prolife is suing the Explore Edmonton Corporation for excluding their booth from Klondike Days, citing Charter violations.
Lawyers from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms filed a lawsuit against the Explore Edmonton Corporation on behalf of Edmonton Prolife earlier this month.
The Explore Edmonton Corporation, owned by the City of Edmonton, manages local venues and promotes tourism in the city.
Edmonton Prolife has had a booth at Klondike Days since the 1980s, according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. The not-for-profit organization aims to provide awareness, support, and resources to those facing unplanned pregnancies and situations that could result in end-of-life care.
“Edmonton Prolife applied for a KDays booth on February 8, 2024. On May 14, 2024, it received a vague notice that its application had been rejected because it had not met vendor criteria or because of lack of available space,” said the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
In Jan. 2022, Edmonton Prolife applied for a booth at Klondike Days. The application was accepted in July 2022. Edmonton Prolife was told it could have a booth at the exhibition to present its materials.
“However, eight days later, Explore Edmonton unilaterally cancelled the organization’s booking without any explanation,” reads the news release.
The not-for-profit did not reapply in 2023.
Email exchanges from 2022 between Explore Edmonton staff, obtained through a freedom of information request, allegedly revealed the corporation’s intentions to exclude Edmonton Prolife.
“(The emails) showed that the corporation looked for ways to exclude Edmonton Prolife from KDays. These email exchanges disclosed that Explore Edmonton disliked their pro-life message and believed that it made guests feel unsafe, despite a lack of any supporting evidence,” said the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.
Another factor allegedly cited without any evidence of security risks was the recent court ruling in the United States on abortion.
“Edmonton Prolife’s application seeks relief for Explore Edmonton’s violation of its section 2(b) Charter right to ‘freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication’,” reads the news release.
Klondike Days were hosted by Northlands until 2019. In 2017, Northlands told Edmonton Prolife that their booth would not be welcome anymore, citing a “new policy” prohibiting “political and religious organizations” from setting up booths at the event.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms represented Edmonton Prolife, arguing that Northlands’ decision infringed on section 2(b) of the Charter. The formal request led to discussions, and Edmonton Prolife was re-permitted to have a booth after Northlands reconsidered.
“Public spaces are important forums for people to express a wide range of ideas. Governments are custodians of public spaces and must comply with the Charter when managing these public spaces,” said Darren Leung, counsel for Edmonton Prolife. “Government bodies like the Explore Edmonton Corporation are legally required to be neutral and have no right to censor content that they dislike or disagree with.”
True North reached out to the Explore Edmonton Corporation for comment but received no reply.