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The Progress Report — The 15 worst things about Edmonton's new Public Spaces Bylaw (20700)

Original source: https://www.theprogressreport.ca/the_15_worst_things_about_edmonton_s_new_public_spaces_bylaw Retrieved: 2026-07-04

  • Bylaw 20700 — Public Spaces Bylaw. Council debated it Feb 14, 2024.
  • Fine schedule targeting unhoused people:
  • Set up a tent on public property — $250
  • Occupy a tent after setup — $250 (so pitching + sleeping = $500)
  • Sleep in a car overnight in a park — $250
  • Panhandle on a road/median/boulevard — $250
  • Consume an illegal substance in public — $500
  • Public alcohol consumption — $250
  • Fire-related offenses (lighting/leaving unattended/failing to extinguish) — $500 each
  • Transit loitering (same stop twice, or lingering in a station) — $250
  • Criminal defence lawyer Ian Runkle: "With a bylaw like this we just end up incarcerating the homeless, which is a terrible use of money."
  • Councillor Tim Cartmell dismissed concerns as "only a ticket."
  • U of A political scientist David Kahane (via companion coverage): the bylaw is "a significant expansion of city control of behavior in public spaces" with "sweeping and dangerous implications for unhoused and poor people."