The Town of Hanna is taking bullying seriously thanks to a new anti-bullying bylaw passed by council.
In the bylaw, “no person shall, in any public space:
a.) Communicate, either directly or indirectly, with any person in a way that causes the person, reasonably in all the circumstances, to feel bullied.
b.) ...encourage or cheer on any person [who is bullying].”
Under the bylaw, anyone found to be bullying can be fined at least $250 for bullying, or $100 for encouraging a bully.
The bylaw is the first such attempt for Hanna. The bylaw was created to help give the local RCMP detachment tools to help stop bullying within the public areas of town.
“The school division has its anti-bullying policies for their schools, the Town has policies for our facilities, but there was nothing in general for the town,” said Mayor Mark Nikota. “They [the RCMP] requested some way they could deal with these situations before things escalated.”
Other communities in the area have already adopted anti-bullying measures.
“It’s already in place for Drumheller. There’s a section in the Community Standards Bylaw which addresses it,” said Mayor Terry Yemen.
The bylaw states no person shall bully any person in a public place or encourage others to do so. The fines for a minor are $250 for a first offence. As an adult, the first offence carries a $500 fine.
Prior to the passing of the bylaw, RCMP were limited in how they could address bullying complaints.
“Before, all the RCMP could do to address a complaint was talk to the person, but there was really no teeth to anything until it became a Criminal Code violation. It spills over into other parts of the town and there was nothing the RCMP could do other than a stern lecture. Now we see things like cyberbullying over Facebook,” said Nikota.
“If someone is picking on or harassing another person, the RCMP can step in and deal with the situation.”