Published December 8, 2023

Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter

Mayor Mitchell Brownstein assured residents that the City of Côte St. Luc will not take down posters of those kidnapped and held by the terrorist group Hamas since their attack on Israel Oct. 7.

The city has its own posters up at Cavendish Blvd. and Kildare Road.

Dr. Renée Karp, a longtime resident, said she had heard rumours, and asked Brownstein to clarify CSL’s policy.

The Mayor replied that CSL does not take down those posters of hostages that are put up on the city territory.

“So there’s no problem with the posters being up?” the resident asked.

Brownstein said that “our Public Works department, nobody in the city, is taking down posters.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Karp said.

A resident named Laurence said some were under the impression the city was not allowing them. The City of Montreal, on the other hand, has been taking down those posters, for which they were condemned by many, including Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi.

“I was wondering if it was possible to take the lead, or follow Hampstead’s lead, and fine those who take them down,” the resident asked.

Hampstead, at its Nov. 20 council meeting, passed a bylaw instituting a minimum $1,000 fine for those removing posters on public property authorized by the town.

Brownstein commended the move by Hampstead as a “very nice sentiment in terms of the message that it sends, and I congratulate Hampstead on that.

“But legally, we all do have bylaws that say that anything you put up is illegal, so any poster, any garage sale, anything that is put up without a permit, it’s illegal,” he explained, before the exact wording of Hampstead’s bylaw was known the following day, Nov. 14. “So if you say you’re going to give a fine for taking down a poster that’s illegal in the first place, it’s not going to hold up in court. It’s a nice sentiment, but it has no legal effect.”

Asked about this, the Hampstead Mayor said the town’s modification to its nuisance bylaw “was verified by outside legal counsel.” He also confirmed that the issue of the fine for removing posters is handled by the provision of the bylaw that says the rule applies to posters approved by the town, and thus not illegal to put up.

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