Last week, from May 27th to May 31st, delegates from CUPE 3903 attended the 2025 CUPE Ontario Convention! While a full report from the delegates is coming soon, we did want to share that CUPE 3903 put forward an emergency resolution resisting anti-protest bubble zone bylaws, which CARRIED! This resolution was in collaboration with CUPE 3902 and CUPE 2484, with support on the floor from CUPE 79.
This emergency resolution compels CUPE Ontario to develop, resource, and implement a campaign and legal action to resist these anti-protest bylaws, work to track bubble zone bylaws being considered or passed (municipally, provincially, and federally), and work to ensure bubble zone legislation becomes a major issue during the 2026 municipal elections. You can find the full text of the resolution below.
Emergency Resolution Number: 3
Local Number: 3903, 3902, 2484.
CUPE ON will:
- Develop, resource, and implement a campaign and legal action to resist anti-protest bubble zone bylaws, such as passed by Toronto City Council in May 2025, that threaten to infringe on workers’ rights to strike and protest labour violations.
- Work to track bubble zone by-laws being considered or passed: municipally, provincially, and federally.
- Work to ensure bubble zone legislation becomes a major issue during the 2026 municipal elections
Because:
- Toronto City Council passed an anti-protest bubble zone bylaw on May 22, 2025, despite the majority of Toronto residents rejecting any such bylaw.
- The Coalition for Charter Rights and Freedoms united 100+ organizations to oppose the anti-protest bylaw, representing labour and workers’ rights, legal and human rights, Jewish and Palestinian solidarity, environmental advocacy, tenant groups, student associations, disability organizations, anti-racism, queer rights, and faith communities.
- According to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, “this bylaw represents a significant risk to peaceful expression and assembly, and on balance is not necessary in light of the already-existing police powers”.
- Similar anti-protest bylaws have been passed in Ontario municipalities such as Ottawa and Vaughan. Despite carve-outs for labour, such bylaws a) limit allowable workers’ expression and b) seek to divide movements.