So I don’t know how many of you have been following this story in the Great White North, but yesterday saw Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant testifying before the Canadian Parliament about Section 13, the Canadian law that suppresses free speech protects human rights. Steyn and Levant have both run afoul of the Human Rights Commission for “hate speech”, in Steyn’s case because Macleans, Canada’s most popular news magazine, had the temerity to publish an excerpt from Steyn’s marvelous book “American Alone”.
The Humans Rights Commission (HRC) is an extremely creepy, extra-legal organization that operates outside of the normal rules of law. There are, for example, no rules of evidence, no requirement to face your accuser, truth is not a defense and while the state is happy to pay your accusers for their time, if you can’t afford to pay for your own defense counsel, you’re pretty much screwed.
Even weirder, all of the “hate speech” cases that have been brought forth over the last seven years have been filed by a smarmy left wing lawyer, and ex-HRC staffer, named Richard Warman. Warman’s M.O. is to go on websites where he expects to find whackos, like www.wheresthefuhrerwhenyouneedhim.org, and post incendiary comments. Then, when somebody responds to his post of “jews suck” with their own post of “damn straight they suck!”, he nails them for hate speech. Floyd will have to weigh in with the expert’s opinion, but that sounds a little like entrapment to me.
Steyn and Levant were magnificent in demolishing Section 13 yesterday. The Conservatives in Parliament get it, I think, based on their questions and reactions. But the Liberals? Well, maybe there’s a problem with how the HRC is administering itself, but we need protections against “hate speech” they harrumph. At one point (sorry, can’t remember where) Steyn tries to explain that hate is part of what makes us human. Hell, it kind of sounds like Jennifer Lynch (the beeyatch who runs the HRC) hates Ezra and I at times, he says. If you take away hate speech, you eliminate free speech, he thunders. It was a great performance. I hope to hell that the Canucks get rid of this abomination of a law, and that it serves as an object lesson to the lefties in this country who can’t wait to do the same thing.
You can watch Steyn and Levant at Ezra’s website. Even if you don’t have time for all of it, check out at least a few minutes. Classic stuff.
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I’m so afraid we’ll eventually end up with these, frankly, draconian laws here also. The idiotic hate crimes legislation was and is a giant step in that direction. To the best of my knowledge a person’s feelings are not protected under any law.
Steyn = Brilliance
Apparently the liberals in Canada think there is a human right not to be offended but no human right to say offensive things. That is dangerous stuff. Who determines what is offensive and what isn’t?
“Who determines what is offensive and what isn’t?”
Easy. Upper-class, white attorney Richard Warman.
Pray for Canada.
Kit
That statement would actually be considered offensive in Canada because it presupposes a higher power to hear those prayers and would be offensive to those who do not believe in such a power. And “Kit” doesn’t sound like a Muslim name so I think you might be in trouble.
Damn! I do not know French!
Anyone know French and can translate the question by Serge Menard on the 2nd video?
3rd and 4th video, I meant.
I called in to a local talk show a while back, when Ezra Levant was appearing as a guest. I pointed out that the Canadian Human Rights Commission is almost identical in its procedures (barring only the use of torture) to the old witch tribunals. The same “guilty until proven innocent” baseline, the same lack of legal protections for the accused, in a legal enterprise set up parallel to–not under–the ordinary judicial system. Mr. Levant agreed.
I love Canada. Spent many a happy day there as a child (My dad’s a Kanuck, which makes me half-Canadian. Non-practicing, of course). Love the people. Great place.
That said, much of Canada’s internal policy is reactionary, in the sense of “We’re not Americans, and don’t want to be confused with being Americans, and we kind of resent our big brother who gets all the chicks, so let’s just go the other way entirely.” Thus, if the US is capitalist, Canada will be socialist, and if we’re down on civil rights, they’ll be up on them. Since ‘hate speech’ has such a nebulous nature in the US, they’re being aggressively contrary, and circumventing civil rights to do it. Crazy!
Unfortunately the abolishment of the HRC in the ever leftward leaning Canada isn’t going to happen. The evidence is listed above in reaction of the leftwing members of Canada’s Parliment. Its extra-legal status is really all anyone should need to know it is a bad idea, but I digress. Hopefully, in the very least, incorporate it into an accountable, current judical body.
Not that I think it should exist at all, but this is the current face of Canada.
Have faith, Mighty Skip, have hope.
Tzrupr,
I like ya, but you are very wrong. This is not a war AGAINST or ON Canada, it is a war FOR Canada.
Excellent point Kit – I stand gratefully corrected!
Then can you change the title?
Your wish = my command.
Thank you.
FREE CANADA! (Make a nice bumper sticker)
FREE CANADA FROM A TYRANNICAL BUREAUCRACY!
FREE OUR NORTHERN BROTHERS!
I love Mark Steyn.
I wish I could, in Rogue-style fashion, take his powers of wit, humour, and intelligence away from him and then kill him.
(Rogue as in the X-Men, nuhnuhnuhNUH-nuhnuh)
Thanks for pointing this out, Rich. I’ve been following this story since the beginning, but I have the bad habit of assuming that everyone on the net has read the same stories I have.
Mark Steyn was found not guilty by the tribunal, and he was extremely upset by that verdict. He and Levant wondered if it would be possible to appeal their not guilty verdict, because if they had been found guilty, there would have been a chance for the whole rotten system to be struck down.
I, like everyone else here I’m sure, have met my fair share of smug Canadians. We all can say in response to their arrogance, “At least I don’t have to get my government’s okay before I speak my mind.”
If that doesn’t work, I like this joke:
I love Canada! I love Mexico, too! They’re like two giant pieces of styrofoam, protecting something precious!
And I don’t have to be near a dog if I am allergic to it.
[...] Committee on Justice and Human Rights, regarding Section 13(1), from Chrome Beach, Mondoville, Threedonia.com, Five Feet Of Fury ( may have posted this link already, but whatever ), Atlas Shrugs, Unambiguously [...]