ARTICLE BY SEAN TREMBATH | SASKATOON STAR PHOENIX | MARCH 19, 2016
An anti-bullying bylaw in Saskatoon would have positive effects, but is not enough on its own to truly stamp out the problem, according to advocates.
“It cannot just be one thing. It has to be a larger effort from all stakeholders,” said Winston Blake, executive director of Saskatoon’s Restorative Action Program (RAP).
On Monday, city council will consider a bylaw that would ban — among other things — name-calling, taunting, mocking, ostracizing, kicking, pushing, shunning and gossiping.
RAP puts community workers in local high schools with a goal of helping students deal with conflict productively. Blake said bullying prevention has to be about teaching alternative ways to deal with conflict.
“At the end of the day, we have to find better ways of doing things,” he said.
The proposed bylaw brings the issue into the public spotlight, which is a good thing, he added.
Mackenzie Murphy said she has seen the positive effects a bylaw can have. The 16-year-old spearheaded a similar bylaw in her hometown of Airdrie, Alberta, which was enacted in September 2013.
Murphy said no one has been charged under the Airdrie bylaw, but the discussion it sparked has gone a long way to reduce bullying in that city.
“The culture has changed tremendously,” she said.
Murphy agrees that a comprehensive approach, including education of both adults and children, is necessary to fully address the problem. Even then, she said reduction is the best society can hope for.
“I don’t believe bullying as a whole can ever be stopped,” she said.
Rachel Loewen-Walker, executive director of OUTSaskatoon, praised the work of some of her colleagues who put many hours into helping get the local bylaw written.
She said LGBT people are often among the main targets of harassment.
“A high percentage of bullying is based on gender identity, “Loewen-Walker said.
At the same time, she echoed the idea that society can’t depend on regulation to completely eliminate bullying.
“You can’t rely on a bylaw to be the ultimate protector.”
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