PDF Version: The Captive Audience Doctrine: Protecting the Unwilling Listener’s Right to Privacy from Unwanted Speech
Matter commented on: Section 2(b) of the Charter and the Captive Audience Doctrine
Consider the following scenarios:
- Your lunch on an outdoor patio on Stephen Avenue Mall is interrupted by someone with a bullhorn blaring religious commandments, telling you that if you don’t follow their God, you are going to Hell;
- You have given up taking your Sunday afternoon naps because a protest group has set up in a neighbouring park and conducts its meetings with the use of amplification which can be heard in your living room;
- While you wait in line in a government building to pay an invoice, you have no choice but to endure a prayer service being conducted by a grassroots religious organization in the lobby of the building;
- You are walking to work and someone confronts you, asking you to join their charitable cause. You decline but the person follows you for several blocks, pressing you to change your mind and once that becomes futile, starts yelling at you.
Read More