Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Human Rights Potpourri: Guy Earle Wants To Play Martyr On The Cheap; Boisson Ruling Appealed

So comedian Guy Earle instructed his lawyer to walk out on his BCHRT hearing in Vancouver yesterday, claiming "abuse of process". I guess that's one way to keep your legal fees down. However, it left testimony like this go (because Ms. Pardy was cross-examined by a non-lawyer) unchallenged:

Did Guy Earle get upset because you kissed your friend, she was asked. She said she thought this was not right though she didn't know what Earle was thinking. Her girlfriend had simply kissed her on her cheek because she was glad to see her out as this was not a common occurrence. They were not trying to make a scene (as previously reported by Earle).

She said she thought Earle thought they were causing a disturbance when they were talking to two waitresses about their patio bill.



[...]

They had spent the time listening to another comedy act, a short set, and talking to comedians. [Lorna Pardy] went to the bathroom to gather herself, and on the way back Earle at the bar physically assaulted her. (I assume this was a reference to Earle snatching her glasses and smashing them.) Her party were in shock and stayed because they couldn't get up from the table. They left around 11.30.

I don't know. It seems a bit of a stretch to argue that this behavior would have been a legitimate part of Guy Earle's "comedy" act.

On a somewhat related note: in December Stephen Boisson won the court challenge of his
conviction by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal for hateful messaging directed at gays. Now, Darren Lund, the University of Calgary professor who brought the original HRC complaint, is appealing that decision. Not much in the way of detail yet, but if you scroll down through the FreeD comments you will see that Mr. Boisson has confirmed.

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