Members of the Palestinian community in the federal capital Ottawa said they are being unfairly targeted by municipal regulations after receiving noise fines totaling about $1500 during a protest demonstration in downtown last Saturday. They added that they will not accept being silenced.

Three fines, each worth $490, were issued to participants in a march organized by the "Palestinian Youth Movement" (PYM) in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the current war between the Hamas movement controlling the area and the State of Israel.

Roger Chapman, Director of the Legal and Regulatory Services Department at the City of Ottawa, said in an emailed statement that the fines were issued under the city’s noise bylaw.

Chapman explained that protesters used loudspeakers in a public place and on the sidewalk and pointed out that they were warned before the fines were issued against them.

"It is worth noting that law enforcement during demonstrations is a result of an escalation in participants' behavior that may pose nuisance and public safety issues," the statement said.

A precedent, according to the protest organizers

Sarah Abdul Karim of the "Palestinian Youth Movement" described the moment she received one of the fines as "shocking."

In fact, despite warnings from the Legal and Regulatory Services officials earlier that day, "this issue had never been raised during the ten weeks we were demonstrating," she said.

Abdul Karim said that protesters used the same sound system, with the same volume, in previous weeks. All marches lasted between one and two hours and took place at various locations in downtown, including the Canadian Human Rights Monument.

Abdul Karim added that last Saturday’s demonstration was no exception.

"This is an effort by the Legal and Regulatory Services and the City of Ottawa to silence us and prevent us from protesting," said Abdul Karim, who intends to appeal the fine issued against her in addition to the other two fines issued against her over the weekend.

She added that the group organizing the demonstrations sought legal advice.

For his part, Chapman did not specify what escalation occurred during last weekend’s demonstration but said complaints under the noise bylaw had been issued during other demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the "Association of Arab Canadians of Palestinian Origin" called on the City of Ottawa to cancel the fines.

Ammar Afana, a member of the association, said that the latter worked closely with the Ottawa Police and municipal authorities to ensure the protests were well organized and “as non-disruptive as possible.”

While he could only speculate about the issuance of fines now, Afana said Palestinians and their supporters have every right to peaceful protest in Ottawa.

"We need to make our voices heard," Afana said, adding that these voices should not be silenced. "I was very disappointed to see what happened."

Afana confirmed that there are no plans to end the weekly protests, even with the threat of fines.