Two of the 2010 Winter Olympics’ harshest critics want a B.C. Supreme Court judge to declare the City of Vancouver’s Olympic bylaws unconstitutional.
Chris Shaw and Alissa Westergard-Thorpe are contesting a July-enacted ban on distribution of advertising and display of signage by non-Olympic sponsors in bubble zones “on, in or above” venues, celebration sites, streets and sidewalks. They claim it infringes on free-speech guarantees in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“The plaintiffs intend to criticize the 2010 Winter Games,” said the statement of claim filed Wednesday by lawyer Jason Gratl. “They intend to communicate with Vancouverites and visitors, politicians and attendees to the sites, pedestrians and commuters using the corridors and they intend to disseminate their messages by communicating at city sites and along corridors with news reporters and Internet content providers.”
Shaw is a University of B.C. ophthalmology professor and author of Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games. Westergard-Thorpe is a University of B.C. law student and Olympic Resistance Network member.
The Olympics are Feb. 12-28 and Paralympics March 12-21, but the bylaw is effective Jan. 1 to March 31.
