CANADA, FREE SPEECH AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Some of you would say that Canada's hate crime laws have put this North American democracy on a slippery slope to dictatorship.  After all, some would say, you can't amend free speech and still call it free speech--even when the language used is harming children and jeopardizing the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for law-abiding citizens.  Or maybe the Canadians have figured out some definition of free speech that is more suited to a humanist secular society than the simple-minded approach of an America that often reminds me of a cage full of red, white and blue monkeys who still run for cover when Thor throws the occasional thunder bolt.

Canadian democracy, unlike American democracy, has determined that language that does harm to people must be curtailed--and most certainly on the public airwaves.

Strangely, American democracy has no problem curtailing and censoring "free speech" when it concerns matters that do no harm.

Americans believe, for example, that it's just fine to limit free speech in the media when it comes to fucking, cunting around, rug munching, cock-sucking, ass eating and mother fucking or using the name of God or Jesus in vain.

But American democracy believes that free speech is put in jeopardy when language that hurts children and leads to suicide and violence is censored in any way.  In America "fucking" is obscene and not suitable for children but "death to fags" is perfectly acceptable.

Ironically, hate language-censoring Canada has left us in the dust when it comes to protecting and respecting the human and civil rights of all Canadians regardless of sexual orientation.

"Christians", of course, are not happy about any of this.

James Dobson's homophobia and constitution-crushing machine, Focus on the Family has confirmed that it has been forced by Canadian law to edit its regular radio broadcasts in to order to comply with Canadian "hate crime" laws.

"In particular, our content producers are careful not to make generalized statements nor comments that may be perceived as ascribing malicious intent to a 'group' of people and are always careful to treat even those who might disagree with us with respect," explains Gary Booker, director of global content creation for Focus.

Now that's a slippery slope to dictatorship if ever there was one:  laws that censor "malicious" attacks on gay Canadians; secular laws that mandate that all people be treated with respect.

"Occasionally, albeit very rarely, some content is identified that, while acceptable for airing in the U.S. would not be acceptable under Canadian law and is therefore edited or omitted in Canada."

A major Catholic news service comments:

"In April 2004, Canada enacted Bill C-250, a bill that added "sexual orientation" to "identifiable groups" protected from communication that would incite hatred towards them. In the months leading up to its passage, many conservative thinkers and activists prophesied that adding "sexual orientation" to the hate crime laws would give homosexual activists the leverage needed to persecute those opposed to their lifestyle for nothing more than expressing disagreement.

According to the Criminal Code of Canada, a person is not to be convicted of a hate crime if "he expressed or attempted to establish by argument an opinion on a religious subject."

Despite the nod to religious conviction, however, the Canadian Human Rights Commission has already investigated and punished numerous individuals for promoting opposition to homosexual practices based on traditional Christian teaching.

In November of 2007, the CHRC threatened the Christian Heritage Party of Canada (CHPC) with legal penalties for material on their website. Printer Scott Brockie has also been found guilty by the Commission and fined for refusing to print pro-homosexual materials, as was Christian pastor Steve Boissoin, who wrote a letter to the editor outlining Christian teachings on homosexuality. Bishop Fred Henry was hauled before the Commission for speaking out against homosexuality, and recently a complaint was made against the Catholic magazine, Catholic Insight for similar reasons."

The Canadians long ago realized that hate language in a public setting was doing harm to Canadian citizens.   Study after study demonstrated that public assaults on homosexuals was contrary to every moral and ethical principle held dear by a civilized and modern society in terms of providing a safe and nurturing environment for children and teens.  Canada responded responsibly, legally and with respect and deference for a concept of freedom that assumed that all Canadians have the right to live in an environment of respect and compassion.

There is a difference between a nuclear bomb and a hand gun.  We recognize that the right to bear arms does not extend to weapons of mass destruction.  A society can remain free and democratic and still manage the difference between absolutes and a sane degree of moderation--at least that's what belief and practice have demonstrated in Canada, England, Sweden and most other EU nations.  Americans, however, can't cope with nuance, like the difference between living naked in a jungle and participation in a humanist society; or the difference between legally defined interrogation and illegal and barbaric torture like waterboarding. In America, if you yell "bomb" at an airport, First Amendment be damned; your sorry ass is going to jail.  But if you yell "abomination", you'll get a tax exemption.

Comments

[Tim]

There are huge systemic differences between American and our Canadian methods of democracy. Whereas you have representative government, which panders to the lowest common denominator, we have responsible government which strives represent everyone. Your head of state is an elected president who has to pander to the lowest common denominator, we have the Queen who is above such tawdry affairs. Much of our human rights legislation has been initiated by our Senate who are appointed by the Prime Minister for a period of life, or to the age of 75, whichever comes first, thereby not having to pander to the lowest common denominator.

Your politics, like everything else in your society, is a zero sum game. Therefore there has to be a loser. There has to be slaves. There has to be the oppressed. There has to be evil. There has to be the delusional fantasy of superiority.

There are elements in Canada (including our present Prime Minister who is for us so far to the right that you would consider him a Democrat) that think we should ape more of your dysfunctional ways. Having known better for far too long Canadians as a whole are having none of it, and thats suits me just fine.

Did you know that being discriminated against on the grounds of sexual orientation in your home country is grounds for seeking political asylum in Canada?

I can't tell you how happy I am to have been born here, and not in some autocracy like Burma, China, Zimbabwe, Iran or the United States of America.