When a small, organized group can scare venues into cancelling lawful events, we have a problem that goes beyond partisan jabs. It’s about who controls the public square.Look at what happened to OneBC. In Penticton, the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre declined a booking, and other spaces followed, after an online campaign painted the fledgling party as beyond the pale. OneBC says left-wing activists mounted a “malicious harassment campaign,” and four venues dropped out before organizers found a fifth location. That’s not democracy. That’s a pressure game to deny people a room with chairs..OLDCORN: Truth and Reconciliation Day: A national farce masquerading as mourning.The same playbook hit Christian worship leader Sean Feucht’s summer tour. Cities across Canada pulled permits after activists framed his views as hateful. Parks Canada yanked Halifax. Ottawa’s National Capital Commission backed out. West Kelowna did, too. Six to eight stops were scrapped or forced to move before some shows went ahead under tight police watch. This wasn’t about noise bylaws or park wear-and-tear; it was about political taste.Free countries don’t settle arguments by locking doors. Section 2 of the Canadian Charter protects freedom of expression and freedom of association. Those protections don’t become optional when a Twitter pile-on starts. Government bodies that run parks, convention centres, and permitting offices have a duty not to discriminate against peaceful assembly because of viewpoint. That’s Civics 101, not graduate school. .Yes, the Charter allows limits, but those limits must be reasonable and justified — not simply convenient for officials who fear a few loud emails. “Safety” can’t become a catch-all to erase basic freedoms. If police can manage a free outdoor worship event in Saskatoon with minor protests, then public order is clearly possible when there’s will to be even-handed. The “tolerant” Left says it’s standing up to hate. In practice, too often it means labelling political opponents as “hateful bigots” and urging institutions to shut them out. That tactic chills debate beyond the target of the day. When people see speakers cancelled, they self-censor. When churches and community groups are bullied out of public spaces, ordinary Canadians learn to keep their heads down. That’s not how a healthy democracy sounds..OLDCORN: Don't hike Alberta’s minimum wage, it would make Alberta's cost of living crisis even worse.This isn’t a call to agree with everything said at a OneBC town hall or a worship concert. Disagree. Protest peacefully outside. Write op-eds. Book your own hall the next night and make your case. That’s pluralism. What isn’t pluralism is mob-veto politics — a small cadre deciding who may speak, sing, or pray in a park Canadians already paid for.Officials need to reset. When an event application is lawful and peaceful, issue the permit. When a city-owned facility is available and the rules are met, rent the room. If there are credible threats, police should protect everyone’s rights, not reward those who threaten to cause trouble. That’s the job..And venues? Do the brave and ordinary thing. Host people you don’t agree with. If your brand “values” are so fragile they can’t survive a political meeting with a microphone and a Q&A, maybe the problem isn’t the renters — it’s your values.Canadians don’t all vote the same way. We don’t worship the same way. We shouldn’t have to. The public square belongs to all of us, especially the unpopular and the unfashionable. If a tiny activist fringe can yank the keys whenever it wants, the rest of us will soon discover those doors are locked for our events, too.The test isn’t whether we defend speech we like. The test is whether we defend the speech we don’t. On that test, too many gatekeepers failed this summer. It’s time to pass.
