Damn Canadian Judges Dig This “Free Expression” Thing

Ontario Superior Court Of Justice, May 3, 2010. Click to read full ruling.

A Canadian’s Philosophical Dilemma

National Post – I can’t make up my mind which I want to come back as in my next life, a thin-skinned lesbian or a serial pedophile.

Steyn to “Human Rights” Commission: Eat Me

Steyn Online – I’m freer than I’ve ever been in Canada. I can say what I like and no “human rights” commission will accept a complaint against me ever again. Go on, try it. Because they know that, if they do, it’s not about me, it’s about them…If you stand up to the state enforcers and you fight them nimbly and publicly, they lose. When you go Magna Carta on Jennifer Lynch’s medieval ass, she can’t take it, and like all bullies she’ll slink off to kick around an easier victim.

Paper: Quirky Commissions Have Become Censors

[The Province] As former B.C. journalist Nigel Hannaford points out in a recent paper for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, free speech in Canada is now policed by two parallel justice systems.

One is the regular court system, which administers the anti-hate provisions of the Criminal Code.

The other consists of a number of federal and provincial human-rights commissions, set up in the ’60s and ’70s to deal swiftly with abuses in the areas of employment and accommodation.

Driven by political agendas, these increasingly quirky commissions have now taken on what is, in effect, a censor’s role.

The rest.

Calgary Herald: Stand On Guard Against Human Rights Commissions

[Calgary Herald] Today, we celebrate the many gifts this country has given us, and remember what an ultimate privilege it is to be called Canadian. But eternal vigilance is the price we pay for those gifts, and standing on guard must be more than a line in our national anthem. The danger signs are all around — record levels of apathy among Alberta voters, and human rights commissions handing down rulings which, far from protecting rights, trample on the most basic ones such as free speech.

The rest.

Levant Takes Peek Inside The Gravy Train

(Take a moment to see how hard Jennifer Lynch, the chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, works. She jets off to Africa, at a cost of $5,800; then Geneva, for a mere $8,300, Australia, for a bargain of $7,500. I can’t remember the last time I spent $90 on breakfast, but then again I don’t work for the CHRC. Maybe the reason she goes overseas so often is she can’t handle the CHRC’s “organizational conflicts” — though a $150 lunch on the subject must have made her feel better. My favourite expense of hers has to be the $1,300 to get from Ottawa to… Toronto. Let me guess: it’s a “human right” to have a chauffered limousine.)

The rest.

Canadian Human Rights Commish: I’m Protecting You

She’s not elected to anything, so you’ll just have to trust that she has your best interests in mind while she helps the law “evolve.” Give yourself another pat on the back for assisting the Commissioner: you pay her salary.

[Windsor Star]. “The current debate on how to balance freedom of expression with the need to protect Canadians from hate messages in the Internet age is an important one,” [Jennifer Lynch] said.

Lynch said Internet-related complaints make up about two per cent of the 12,000 to 15,000 complaints received by the commission each year. But there’s growing public interest and continued advances in technology that all point to a need to examine issues surrounding hate on the Internet, she said, adding that the commission is dedicated to ensuring that the Canadian Human Rights Act remains effective. “Legislation must evolve — when necessary — to respond and reflect changes in society.”

The rest.

Globe and Mail: Wise Canadian Human Rights Sages Wish To Ponder Hate

Sure. It was their idea all along.

[Globe and Mail] Hate is a subject that the Canadian Human Rights Commission wisely wishes to think about. A law professor at the University of Windsor, Richard Moon, will write a wide-ranging report for the CHRC, to come out in October, on “the most appropriate mechanisms for addressing hate messages.”

The rest.

George Jonas: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

[National Post] Few institutions conjure up George Orwell’s dystopia of 1984 as readily as the Canadian Human Rights Commission. A premature baby, born seven years ahead of Orwell’s schedule, the CHRC has been as smugly doubleplusgood as the satirist’s Ministry of Love, though not remotely as powerful or quite as evil.

Give it time, I say.

The rest.

The Censor’s Dream

More international bad press for Canadian human rights commissions.

[NRO] The human-rights tribunals are a censor’s dream. Under Canada’s human-rights act, commissioners can convict if they believe any published material is “likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt.” Since they are “remedial” institutions and not real courts, they need not follow strict legal procedures or grant traditional rights of the accused. No one goes to prison, but the panels can fine and silence people at will — and run up the lawyer bills for years. Truth is no defense, and commissioners are authorized to confiscate a computer without a warrant. Evidence can be woefully flimsy.

The rest.

Huh. Maybe You Don’t Need Human Rights Complaints After All

[Abbotsford Times] Right off the top, I’m going to say that I don’t think Steyn is guilty of any crime, that I don’t think he should be penalized, fined, jailed and not censored for his article or his book.

Free speech is our single most valuable right, and it should not be compromised.

That said, Steyn is dead wrong.

Not a great article, as he winds up saying Steyn’s theories “could” be right (far different from “dead wrong”), but at least he said something without ratting to teacher.

CHRC Commish Looks Forward To Expansion

[Marketwire] Effective immediately, the Commission can accept complaints against the federal government dealing with the Indian Act that were previously exempted because of section 67. The bill provides for a three-year transition period before complaints can be received against First Nations governing authorities.

The Commission has entered into discussions with key national Aboriginal organizations to plan for implementation. “The Commission looks forward to working closely with Aboriginal organizations to build a human rights system that reflects and respects Aboriginal peoples’ cultures and traditional laws,” Ms. Lynch said.

The rest.

Mercer: It’s All So Complicated. Someone Get Me A Magic 8-Ball

[Mark Mercer, Ottawa Citizen] Now on the other side, to balance against all this, is harm, the harm that expressions of hate cause vulnerable people. Restrictions on expressions, most of us can agree, though some of us will agree with regret, are justified when they are needed to protect people from harm.

For a restriction on expression to be legitimate, though, there must be good reason to think that its presence will indeed prevent harm. Harm, moreover, that cannot be as efficiently prevented any other way. In addition, there must be good reason to think the restriction will not create more or worse harm than it prevents.

The rest.

Human Rights Investigator To Surf Net And Have A Few Meetings

Nice work if you can get it. Pat yourself on the back for paying his fee.

[Canwest] In a brief interview Tuesday, Moon said the public debate over the Maclean’s complaints is evidence that such a review is needed.

“I don’t think anybody could pretend that there isn’t a serious issue to be considered here.”

At this point, he said, he is “reading comprehensively” and will meet privately with people on all sides of the issue to hear their perspectives.

He doesn’t plan to accept written briefs or hold public hearings.

Only natural. You wouldn’t want the public to actually read or hear anything about all this. Let us know when Guru Moon is done with his lunch dates.

Buchanan: A New Orthodoxy Is Arising

More international bad press for the Canadian human rights commissions.

[Post Chronicle] Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada.

The trial is before a court with the Orwellian title of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The accused are Maclean’s magazine and author Mark Steyn. The crime: In mocking and biting tones, they wrote that Islam threatens Western values.

The rest.

“Independent” Study: Unelected Official Hires Another Unelected Official To Examine Her Office

…paid for by your cash, with the hopes of changing your laws. Hey, who needs elections, anyway?

[Marketwire] He will conduct legal and policy research and analysis and make recommendations on the most appropriate mechanisms for addressing hate messages on the Internet, with specific emphasis on section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the role of the CHRC. His work will include a review of existing statutory and regulatory mechanisms, an examination of the mandates of human rights commissions and tribunals, and a consideration of Canada’s international human rights obligations.

The rest.

Here Comes The Cavalry! Human Rights Body Pledges To Examine Itself

[National Post] Faced with a growing controversy over human rights complaints and freedom of speech, the Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday launched a major independent review of how it deals with hate messages on the Internet.

The rest.

St. Catherine’s Standard: Time To Gut Section 13 Of Human Rights Code

Dykstra’s request for a review of the commission — which the committee is expected to vote on shortly — is a good first step.

But ultimately, we’d like to see that review support Liberal MP Keith Martin’s private member’s bill to abolish or significantly amend section 13.1.

The rest.

Levant: Canadian Writers/Editors Want Abolishment Of HRC’s Speech Laws

Via Mark Steyn:

[Ezra Levant] I talked a bit about the law, reading out its key sentence. And Noah took a poll of the room: did they support the law, or want to see it abolished? 100% were on the side of freedom. I was impressed — these were, in the main, fancy downtown Toronto culturati. They get it.

The rest.

One Step Closer To Total Power – And A Whole Bunch Of Money

[CHRC website, May 29, 2008] The Commission was commenting on the passage of Bill C-21 in the House of Commons.

“This is a milestone piece of legislation,” said CHRC Chief Commissioner Jennifer Lynch, Q.C., “How appropriate that this historic step forward by Parliament is being taken now, as today is the National Day of Action.”

…

Repeal of this section is just a first step. The real work for the Commission and for First Nations — building effective human rights protection — is just beginning.

Rewind:

Don’t forget to pony up the cash…

[Jennifer Lynch, Speech, April 19, 2007] I would like to articulate clearly the imperative need of ensuring that both First Nations and the Commission have the resources needed to ensure that implementation is successful. No matter how well an interpretative provision is drafted or how long the transitional period is, implementation will not be successful without adequate resources to build needed capacity. Without that capacity, implementation may falter and this would bring the Canadian Human Rights Act into disrepute.  No one wants this result.

+

…and just remember who you’re dealing with, too.

[Speech, same page] Finally, I would like to clarify that the Commission’s statutory mandate goes well beyond the investigation and resolution of human rights complaints.  The Act makes the Commission the guardian of human rights by giving the Commission broad powers to ensure that human rights are effectively implemented in the federal jurisdiction.

But it’s all about Aboriginal rights, isn’t it?

Canadian Equation? Words + Action – Freedom = Auschwitz

Hmm. “History has shown us that hateful words sometimes lead to hurtful actions that undermine freedom and have led to unspeakable crimes.” Commissar Lynch provides, as she would say, “no substantiation for these claims.” But then she’s a “hate speech” prosecutor and, as we know, Canada’s “human rights” procedures aren’t subject to tiresome requirements like evidence. So she’s made an argument from authority: the great Queen’s Counsel has risen from her throne in the Star Chamber and pronounced, and let that suffice. Those of us who occupy less exalted positions in the realm might wish to ponder the evidence for her assertions.

The rest.

Today, Kamloops. Tomorrow, The World!

Back on Dec 10, 2007 (International Human Rights Day):

Jennifer Lynch, Chief Commissioner, CHRC.

As recently appointed chair of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, my goal is to reinforce human rights commissions around the world. Together, we can make a difference: one right earned strengthens a community; one right shared strengthens a community of nations.

The rest.