The Mayor of New West has no plans to ban spitting, yelling and swearing in public anytime soon.
Jonathan Cote considers a new bylaw in Taber, Alberta, which prohibits all three, as a "heavy-handed" approach.
"To me, it seems a little out of the ordinary. I don't know the details of what's happening in the town that would instigate this discussion, but I don't think it's going to create better neighbourhoods," Cote told the Record.
On the recommendation of police, Taber city council passed the bylaw late last month with a 6-1 vote.
The fine for being caught cursing or screaming is $150 on first offence and $250 on second offence. If you spit, the penalty is $75.
Under the new rules, kids and teenagers also have to abide by a curfew, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Peace officers also have the power to break up groups of three or more "in a public place where a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe the assembly will disturb the peace."
Meanwhile, Taber's mayor was quoted in the Taber Times, arguing "I'm not saying this thing is perfect, but I think we should give it a chance and try it out, and let the police work with it. After a period of time, we might make some adjustments, but let's see how it works."
But Cote said mandating all these behaviours isn't the right way to go.
"It's certainly not an approach I would take if I was trying to build community and bring people together. I'd point to our Neighbourhood Small Grants program that we have, which allows groups to get together and use those grants so that people actually meet their neighbours," he said.
The NSG program, which was established by the Vancouver Foundation in 1999, is active in 17 communities around the Lower Mainland. Grants of up to $1,000 are given to local residents for projects they believe strengthen the area where they live.
"Even our youth centre inside the seniors' location, where young people can interact with seniors. To me, these are better strategies to help break down those walls and get to know each other. I don't think you can put that kind of stuff in a bylaw," Cote added.
Taber has a population of 8,100 people and is located 250 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
