March 30, 1931 (17th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Mr. WOODSWORTH:

This bill is simply to provide a safeguarding clause to ensure that the general nature and character of speeches on public affairs shall be the ground for regarding any meeting as unlawful. In some of our cities recently there has been what seems to some of us an abuse of the law, whereby citizens have been prejudiced with regard to their utterances, while others who may have been listening have been declared to be members of an unlawful assembly; and this without any regard to the general character of the speeches made. This bill is merely to prevent that sort of thing in future.
Motion agreed to and bill read the first time.