Brampton mayor takes step to block protests at places of worship

Mayor Patrick Brown is making clear that he doesn’t want Sikh and Hindu factions in Brampton protesting at each other’s temples.

At a city committee meeting next week, Brown will present a motion asking for the creation of a bylaw prohibiting protests at places of worship.

A similar movement is underway in Mississauga.

“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental freedom afforded to all Canadians. However, this right is not without limits. Everyone, regardless of their faith or background, has a right to feel safe when our residents go to worship,” Brown says in his proposal.

While he doesn’t specifically mention the recent battle that took place at Hindu Sabha Mandir on The Gore Rd. or the resulting retaliatory protests at nearby Sri Guru Singh Sabha gurdwara on Aiport Road in Malton, Brown has been vocal in response to these conflicts and promised he would take steps to calm tensions.

Brown has told several media outlets that the protests have gotten out of hand with the simmering tensions between the two sides erupting into more aggressive behaviour and now violence.

At issue between the factions is the Khalistan independence movement in India that looks to create a separate homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of India.

“Whereas religious freedom is a foundational value in Canada. Everyone should feel safe in their place of worship,” Brown says in his motion. “…hate has no place in our community and will not be tolerated.”

His motion asks City of Brampton legal and bylaw enforcement staff to work with Peel Police, faith groups, and other levels of government to develop new rules regarding where protests can take place.

If approved at the committee level, the motion will then go before city council before the process to implement the new bylaw can take place.