What is and isn’t allowed to be advertised on city buses and at municipal venues may soon change, in light of a recent court ruling that saw the city criticized for its “unreasonable” removal of three anti-abortion ads in 2019 and 2020.
The city is updating its advertising acceptability policy to “more clearly and transparently engage in the balancing exercise” cited in the court ruling, city Tara Sprigg, the city's general manager of strategic communications and community engagement, said via email, referring to the judicial panel’s direction that the city consider the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in its decision-making.
“The city will not be filing an appeal,” Sprigg added, noting the removed Guelph & Area Right for Life ads are also being re-evaluated.
One ad was pulled in December of 2019 and two more in March of 2020 on the advice of Ads Standards, which received complaints about the ads’ accuracy.
The city plans to continue to use Advertising Standards as part of its decision-making, Sprigg noted, in addition to the rest of the balancing exercise.
