Unjust By-Law

Graffiti, vandalism from my perspective, is an ugly reality of life in a city. Unfortunately, the City of Ottawa’s approach to resolving the problem places the onus on the victim, the property owner. The thinking that immediate repair, at a cost to the property owner and within an arbitrary time period imposed by the city by-law, discourages repeat offences is not proving to be a sustaining argument.

In its current format, property owners are unjustifiably penalized for the actions of vandals. Although vandals, IF apprehended, may face a fine which may or may not get paid, any property owner subjected to recurring graffiti is forced to absorb the cost associated with the removal of the graffiti.  It goes against our fundamental notion of justice when victims of crime, and vandalism is a crime, are held responsible not only to pay for the repair of the crime but to complete the repair within a specified period of time or face further consequences. I am not aware of any other law that holds the victim accountable for the remedy of an infraction.

Although the city graffiti by-law may have been well-intended, it appears to have done little to stop the vandalism. Perhaps if the city was responsible to pay for these repairs they would have placed more emphasis on a shared-cost approach rather than the current win-lose strategy. The current by-law is uniquely advantageous to the city. It is one that punishes the victim more than the offender and that should not be allowed to continue.