Judge acquits street preacher

The City of Calgary will review a 90-page judgment handed down by a provincial court judge slamming the city’s handling of a controversial street preacher, according to the solicitor.

On Monday, a provincial court judge acquitted preacher Art Pawlowski on seven charges and, on six of them, ruled they were in violation of Pawlowski’s freedom of religion or freedom of expression.

City solicitor Paul Tolley said the city will review the document at length before making any decisions or official comments.

“We will have to sit down with other units involved and read the entire decision thoughtfully before we go ahead with anything,” Tolley said.

Two of the avenues the city could pursue would either be to appeal the decision or to re-draft the bylaws in question, he added.

“If we look at the bylaws, we would take into consideration what the judge said and make sure they don’t infringe.”

Pawlowski and the city have long been at a standstill over his use of an amplifier when giving his sermons to the homeless and the charges against him resulted from the ongoing conflict.

Metro Calgary