Canada’s second-largest city Montreal has passed a new by-law that could see people fined up to $2,000 for insulting police officers and other municipal officials, sparking debate over freedom of speech.

Montreal city council adopted the by-law following a 35-25 majority vote, with Official Opposition leader Marie Plourde describing the process as “half-baked,” stating “We are being asked to vote now and consult later.”

According to reports, under the by-law, residents can be fined between $300 and $1,000 for the first instance of insulting and abusing law enforcement officers and other officials. 

Violators of the bylaw could face up to $2,000 for repeated offences. It remains unclear when the city plans to implement the bylaw. 

The CBC reported that the decision followed push by the head of the police brotherhood for the city council to implement the by-law after similar ones were adopted by other municipalities in the province, including Quebec City, Laval, Longueuil and Sherbrooke. 

Some of the municipalities have issued thousands of fines to residents in the last six years, according to the Canadian Press in June. 

Despite constitutionality concerns by lawyers and legal experts, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, before the meeting stated “Giving the middle finger, it’s not what will give you a ticket. Let’s just be honest. There’s bigger issues in terms of the attitude of some citizens.”

Meanwhile, the adoption of the by-law has divided opinions on social media, with Instagram user @eligz in his opposition stating “If you can’t handle words of hate being thrown at you, you shouldn’t be in law enforcement, full stop, you’re not there to make friends, and you should definitely not be in your feelings while in the job.”

Also, User@am_maintenance_ceo also shared a similar view, stating “How is it defined as an insult Canada needs free speech as long as threats or physical violence isn’t used, Canadians should be free to express themselves.”

“Another large step towards facism. Literally no arguing for this because what construes an insult? This will be heavily abused, guarantee it. Yet another reason to avoid Quebec,” @deepsleepta2 said. 

Others, however, backed the law, including @puria7, who stated “Toronto should do the same. People in this city are too entitled and very rude. We need to put them in their place.”

“I’m respectful of officers. This doesn’t apply to me.

But I hope officers are also going to follow this. I witnessed the bad apples out there. Their actions have become physical as well as verbal,” @neon_city_sign said.