Macleans magazine and Mark Steyn have been hauled before the “BC Human Rights Tribunal” for publishing an excerpt from Steyn’s book America Alone talking about demographic trends in Europe — the fact that the Muslim immigrant population is growing and the European population is shrinking.
A Muslim activist in Ontario was offended by this article, and filed complaints in the federal, Ontario and BC “Human Rights” tribunals.
The tribunal is run by a panel of bureaucrats, with no legal expertise whatsoever. There are no rules of evidence, or in fact ANY LEGAL REQUIREMENTS at all. The tribunal has sweeping powers to punish defendants without any process whatsoever. Complaintants’ court costs are paid by you, the taxpayer, and defendents must pay their own fees, even if aquitted. The federal tribunal has NEVER AQUITTED ANYONE. As Macleans’ lawyers have been pointing out all day, the law under which these tribunals take place is so utterly vague that it prohibits anything that does OR MIGHT AT SOME FUTURE TIME incite someone to act “hatefully”. And in fact it allows for NO DEFENSE WHATSOEVER. Period. If someone decides to file a complaint against you, and claims that something you did or said was or might some time in the future be considered hateful, you’re toast.
The BC tribunal has awarded thousands of dollars to a McDonald’s employee who was offended at being told to wash her hands. The Alberta tribunal fined a salon thousands because one employee called another a “loser”. The Ontario tribunal Employees of the federal tribunal have posted thousands of hateful messages on web sites in order to incite people into similar remarks, using stolen internet connections.
The intent of the commissions may have been benign when they were established, but they are now clearly a menace to freedom of speech and the rule of law.
Andrew Coyne was blogging throughout.
Read Ezra Levant‘s blog for lots of background. Update: the three un-elected and completely unaccountable imbeciles in charge of this kangaroo court.