Supreme Court of Canada: Buses Cannot Refuse Political Ads

OTTAWA, July 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an important defense of freedom of expression, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that busses cannot refuse ads of a political nature, rejecting the appeal of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (Translink) and B.C. Transit in a case brought against them by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF).

Legal experts have suggested that this decision will be important in the pro-life cause, as the principles of the case will be transferable for advertising of pro-life and other related issues on busses, bus stops, and other areas.

There has been controversy over pro-life advertising in Canada during the past year after LifeCanada launched a national education campaign in over 50 communities using a pro-life ad on busses. The ad featured a pregnant woman with the line: "Nine months. The length of time abortion is allowed in Canada. Abortion: Have we gone too far? http://www.abortionincanada.ca/."

LifeSiteNews.com reported in January 2008 that the ad had been pulled by city officials in Hamilton, Fredericton, and St. John's, claiming inaccuracies in the ad, and "controversy."

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Logically speaking - if those political ads comply with all the applicable laws (be that the laws that restrict campaign spending by political parties and lobby groups or the laws and by-laws that prohibit obscenity, hate mongering, libel, copyright violations etc) - what reason could there be for an advertising agency to refuse them?

And, if it's ok for the unions and student groups to use bus advertising in their campaign - why should the same service be denied to pro-lifers? After all - if, according to the OHRC decision, a Christian printer does not have the right to refuse a printing job that violates his conscience - shouldn't the same rule apply to other businesses as well?