Peterborough city council on Monday will decide whether to amend a bylaw that could give grassroots group Food Not Bombs Peterborough an exemption to continue to serving food at Confederation Square.
The organization for nearly two decades has served free meals to those in need, utilizing what they say is surplus food from farms, grocers and other community sources.
Beginning in 2005, the meals were first served each Monday inside City Hall’s lobby before shifting across the street to Confederation Square in 2011. In the 19 years of serving food, the group says it was never required to have a permit.
But late last month, the city began enforcing a Parks and Facilities bylaw introduced in 2019 that prohibits tenting and offering food in public parks. The city issued the group a trespass notice.
However, on April 1, the group again served food at Confederation Square. A bylaw officer issued another trespass notice but the group declined to leave.
During city council meeting’s meeting a day later, David Potts, the city’s legislative services commissioner, said the group is contravening the bylaw by establishing a large tent and serving food on municipal property.
“They’re an unincorporated association of individuals. It’s not a legal person,” he said during the meeting. “There’s no one to make an application for a legal permit.”
In a statement on Sunday, the group says its sharing of free meals is an “act of solidarity, celebration and mutual aid.”
“We have recently been informed that we now require a permit. However, FNB is not a soup kitchen, business, or picnic, but a protest against unjust civic priorities,” the statement reads. “The city has confirmed that protests in Peterborough do not require permits. We welcome the opportunity to clarify this and establish legal precedent through the courts.”
But a solution may be forthcoming on Monday evening. A new report from Potts going to city council recommends an amendment to the bylaw which would allow the city to grant (and revoke) exemptions for specific activities in Confederation Square
Mayor Jeff Leal says it’s an approach that should satisfy the needs of the “non-conventional organization.”
“Food Not Bombs provides a very valuable service to this community — people that are seeking food, experiencing homelessness, individuals who are marginalized,” Leal told Global News on Friday.
The caveat of the bylaw amendment will include steeper fines — it will be $500 for the remainder of the first day on which a contravention occurs and to $750 for each subsequent day that the bylaw is broken for anyone that conducts an activity without a required permit or has an exemption.
Coun. Keith Riel says the city has been working closely with Food Not Bombs to find an amicable solution, noting the city has been selectively enforcing the legislation, in particular with rules around tenting at parks amid a homelessness crisis.
“We’re not fining people so far,” he said. “We’re trying to work with them, even though they’re in violation of the bylaw. It’s to try to find them housing.”
Food Not Bombs was considering hiring a human rights lawyer prior to the city’s suggested solution.
“Many fear that this bylaw is already an example of unconstitutional governmental overreach,” said volunteer Chris Wilson on Friday. “This amendment seems like a Trojan Horse designed to disable the democratic check and balance system of the courts.”
In its statement on Sunday afternoon, Food Not Bombs Peterborough says it appreciates the “ongoing, productive dialogue” with the city and council to find a solution. The group also supports any amendments to the bylaw that “enshrine our constitutional rights.”
However, the group says it opposes any amendments that “impede judicial oversight and the right of appeal” — including replacing provincial offences tickets with “administrative penalties.”
“We will not be used as a smokescreen for a motion designed to disable checks and balances, and render unchallengeable an overreaching bylaw which is more illegal than our public use of public space,” the statement concludes.
“We all want our city to be safe, inviting, and communal. The best way to achieve this is through active and varied use of parks and public spaces.”
— with files from Germain Ma/Global News Peterborough