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“I love it,” retired Saskatoon police Sgt. Brian Trainor said in an interview Thursday. “I think it’s an intermediary tool that the police can use instead of a slap on the wrist or doing nothing.”

Photo by Greg Pender / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

The proposed bylaw would apply to people 12 years of age and older. Fines for a first offence could be as high as $300. Fines for subsequent offences could be as high as $2,500.

The bylaw is much more specific than an anti-bullying bylaw enacted in Regina 10 years ago. Saskatoon’s bylaw defines bullying as any repeated and unprovoked comment or conduct likely to cause someone “harm, fear or physical or psychological distress.”

The bylaw lists taunting, ridiculing, shunning and “excluding another person.” It also includes physical acts like kicking, pushing, hair pulling and pinching.

The bylaw also prohibits aiding or encouraging bullying in public places.

Trainor, who now works as an education consultant and lectures on cyber-bullying, acknowledged the bylaw is broad, but suggested it may be changed before it becomes law.

Charles Smith, a political-science professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s St. Thomas More College, applauded the city for trying to address bullying, but wondered about enforcement.

“Where do you draw the line between bullying and unpleasant behaviour?” he asked.

The city’s legal staff has drafted two versions: one that would apply to schools and schoolyards during school hours, and one that would not.