Ottawa bylaw has zealously gone after Palestinian supporters who use megaphones at demonstrations. But that hasn't been the enforcement pattern at other events.

For weeks now, the City of Ottawa has been aggressively ticketing pro-Palestinian protesters for noise violations. It is time to call out this action for what it is: an attempt to suppress free expression.

Over the last 14 weeks, bylaw officers have issued $490 fines to 15 protesters for using microphones and megaphones, or “sound reproduction devices,” as the city calls them. Among those ticketed was Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden, who used a megaphone at a protest. The city’s action seems high-handed because in the past it has not been so aggressive, and indeed, was very lax with the convoy protesters.

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Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I asked for a record of past noise violation tickets. The city’s response covered the period between April 2022 (two months after the convoy protest) to Dec. 4, 2023. Over........

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