Chalk, Cops, and City Hall: A Costly Council Committee Circus
Nov 10 2025 - Owl News - the four MHPS uniformed officers do not seem to be on the lookout for troublemakers.
MEDICINE HAT – Geraldine Stuber went to court on Monday for her two chalk ticket trials. Yes, the city chose to go to trial. TWO trials. Over chalk.
This has been going on since she was ticketed in November 2025.
The Medicine Hat Police Service sent no fewer than four officers to ticket her.
The reason they gave?
To prevent trouble.
The above photo does not appear if they are concerned about troublemakers. All eyes appear to be directed at one spot.
The Bylaw and the Arguments
The city's lawyer told the judge that the graffiti bylaw does not differentiate between permanent and non-permanent markings.
That is correct.
Under the current bylaw, chalk is treated the same as spray paint. A grandmother using sidewalk chalk to draw a message of peace is legally no different from someone spray-painting a gang tag.
Bylaw 3679 was written back in 2006. It defines graffiti as "words, figures, letters or drawings scribbled, scratched, painted, sprayed, written, drawn, or otherwise applied on Premises without consent." It does not say anything about permanency.
Geraldine told the court that as an Indigenous artist, she uses chalk as a medium to get her message out, in this instance during a homelessness awareness event. She said it is a form of expression and cited the Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms.
Geraldine also pointed out that under this bylaw children could be fined for chalking on the sidewalk.
She presented a case from 2020 about Ottawa police detaining people three separate times for writing messages in chalk on public sidewalks.
In June of that year, a woman was detained for writing "Black Lives Matter" in chalk. Police threatened to charge her with mischief because she did not have permission.
The very next day, Ottawa's mayor Jim Watson tweeted that his permission was not needed to chalk on the sidewalk.
In July, an Ottawa University professor wrote "Abolish Prisons" in chalk outside the Ottawa police station. He was confronted and detained by police.
In September, police again detained two women who were writing messages like "Racism hurts everyone" and "End Police Brutality" on a public sidewalk. Three police officers showed up for that one.
After that September incident, Mayor Watson tweeted again. He said: "This is not vandalism. It's chalk on a sidewalk! As long as it's not promoting hatred (this was the exact opposite) and if you don't like it, just wait for a rainy day."
Traffic Commissioner D. Price accepted that information as an exhibit.
He will give his decision October 23 in the Alberta Court of Justice. He thanked Geraldine for bringing him a case that raised such interesting questions.
The City's Response
Meanwhile, the Governance Committee is finally ready to discuss changes to the bylaw at its next meeting in September. They first started discussing it March 10, 2026 – after the Owl informed Mayor Clark, as well as Councillors Young and Hellman that very day. To his credit, Young added it to the closed agenda for that afternoon's meeting.
When asked for an update, Governance Committee chair Stuart Young told the Owl on July 6:
"The change I was originally looking into was whether or not we could adjust the bylaw so that it would differentiate between permanent and non-permanent markings. I believe there was a jurisdictional scan done, but I don't recall the outcome at the moment."
The Owl did a jurisdictional scan as well. Indeed, most graffiti bylaws do not differentiate between permanent and non-permanent mediums. However, there is no way to do a jurisdictional scan for how many people were actually ticketed for chalk. As the Ottawa example shows, many people think it is ludicrous to be ticketed for chalk, something that washes away in the rain.
On Aug 11, the Governance Committee once again discussed it behind closed doors. It will appear on the open portion of the Governance Committee agenda on Sept 15, 2026.
Meanwhile, council greenlighted a pilot project that started with a notice of motion at the April 20 Regular Council meeting. It was approved by Council by May 4 to be in place by July 2.
What was the project? Alcohol in parks. Because apparently, the city has time to fast-track booze in public spaces but cannot figure out how to fix a bylaw that treats chalk like a felony.
So now we wait
The city's bylaw still treats chalk like spray paint.
The city is still paying its legal department to deal with this issue.
Nobody got a ticket for downtown garbage can graffiti about vaginas and assholes.
The bylaw might be changed by Decision Day Oct 23 but we do not ever underestimate Councils ability to kick the can further down the road.
Timeline
Nov 10, 2025 – Geraldine issued graffiti tickets for chalk. Four officers surround her.
Jan 23, 2026 – First court appearance. Geraldine pleads not guilty and opts to go to trial.
Mar 10, 2026 – Governance Committee first discusses bylaw 3679. Behind closed doors.
Jun 12, 2026 – First chalk trial. Mistrial. Rescheduled to Aug 17.
Jul 20, 2026 – Second chalk trial. City lawyer requests an adjournment to Aug 17.
Aug 11, 2026 – Governance Committee again discusses it in closed session.
Aug 17, 2026 – Trial #1 commences. Commissioner says he will render his judgement Oct 23. The second trial is put on hold pending the outcome of the first.
Sept 15, 2026 – Governance Committee finally addressing it in public.
Oct 23, 2026 – Decision Day.
The Owl will keep watching. Because apparently, someone has to.
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