Hear No Evil
I really hope that this new bylaw applies to losers who like to blast their crappy techno music too loud from their car stereos as well:
Canada’s highest court has quashed a bid by a strip club in Montreal to continuing blasting outside the sounds from inside, upholding the city’s noise bylaw.
The Château du sexe, on Ste. Catherine Street, argued it was freedom of expression.
But in the six-to-one ruling, the Supreme Court justices ruled limits to that right are justifiable to “guarantee quality of life.”
The ruling supports the noise bylaw because its “purpose was to control noises that interfere with peaceful enjoyment of the urban environment” and concedes there is no other practical way for city officials to deal with the issue.
The justices also concluded the city had the power to regulate and to define what constituted a public nuisance.
Justice Ian Binnie, the sole dissenter, argued the bylaw is too broad and it could be used to ban people from playing Mozart in their gardens.
He said the city should find better methods of controlling noise pollution.
I’m finding it tough to critique the Supreme Court’s decision because it seems wrong on both sides. While I am all for preventing the club from blasting their annoying music outside on the street, I don’t agree that it interferes with the “peaceful enjoyment of the urban environment”. Isn’t an urban environment loud by definition?
On the other hand, if the bylaw is too vague will I get in trouble for blasting my Guns n’ Roses Greatest Hits CD from my car while headbanging and saluting the devil?
As for Château du Sexe’s argument that blasting bad music outside their strip club is considered “freedom of expression”, I just don’t agree. Isn’t freedom of expression something that is expressed by an individual? I can imagine the right to a person blasting the Dead Kennedy’s on their loud speaker as freedom of expression, but how is blasting generic techno and R&B hits from a speaker owned by a company considered the same?
Château du Sexe is obviously just using every opportunity they can for self-promotion… whether it be by blaring music in the street or going to court for media attention. Does anyone really believe that they went to court over freedom of expression?
November 4th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
While I agree that the strip club obviously doesn’t have the freedom of expression that individuals have, according to US law any corporation is granted equal rights as individuals under the law. Whether this truly makes sense or not is up for debate [though historically courts have sided more with corporations] and as such would have expression rights under the law.
Most cities have noise pollution and disturbing the peace laws that forbid anyone from getting to rowdy. If your neighbors complain and your decibel level is too high you can get fined. Expressive freedom or not.
I’m curious as to whether Château du Sexe’s “urban” neighborhood doesn’t have such laws or perhaps such laws didn’t apply.