City council sent the proposed nuisance bylaw back to the drawing board Wednesday.
They decided to send the proposal back to the transportation committee to rework the legislation that would ban loud boisterous behaviour and indecent language from Ottawa’s streets and sidewalks.
Some suggestions to fix the proposal's language would be to limit when the bylaw could be enforced from 11 p.m to 7 a.m., or to only apply it to entertainment districts like Elgin Street.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Georges Bédard proposed the bylaw as a means of curbing rowdy behaviour on the city’s streets after the bars close – without having to apply the criminal code.
Andrew Nellis, a civil-liberties activist and spokesperson for the Ottawa Panhandlers' Union, said the legislation’s language could be used to keep “undesirables” away from the downtown area.
Once the transportation committee decides whether or not it wants to change the proposal and how it wants to change it, the legislation will once again go to council for a vote.