Saturday, February 23, 2013

Law Repealing Hate Speech Provision Stuck in Senate

This story tallies with what I've been hearing.  A number of senate Tories aren't down with the repeal of S-13,  the hate speech provision in Canada's Human Rights Act.  After 2nd reading, it may disappear for months in committee.  It may never re-emerge.   Just maybe the notion that "limitations on expression should be subject to the built-in protections of real courts through libel and slander laws and hate speech provisions in the Criminal Code" is looking less persuasive after this and this.

5 comments:

Harry Abrams said...

Some fools over at the Freedo site are grumbling about a debate that presumably took place on Global TV the other day. It's almost too much to hope for S13 to be saved in the Senate, but maybe it helped that the Cdn. Bar Association basically came out with the same suggestion as B'nai Brith and others before the Parliamentary vote...that S13 and the Tribunal process are still sound, just remove the notion of issuing fines by the Tribunal, and save it for contempt proceedings. ....http://www.freedominion.com.pa/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=162090&sid=7d2972a94c8e114611cb77958d2a124b

Harry Abrams said...

juritem 328Further to my last comment...there doesn't appear to have any such debate, only a story on Global about a former West Coast "Skinhead thug" talking about the "life." In other news, Arthur Topham has announced that his lawyer Doug Christie has had to resign from working his case due to health reasons...an advanced case of liver cancer, over and above the prostate cancer that he was battling for the last year or so.

bigcitylib said...

Wow. I've heard the cancer rumours for over a year now. But never a confirmation.

Anonymous said...

I believe in free speech and would die to defend if need be. Everyone should be allowed to say whatever they want in a free, open and democratic society. But if what you say causes hurt and harm it should be banned. You can’t yell “fire” in a crowed movie theatre cause it would cause panic and harm to someone. But groups such as skinheads and KKK should be banned without question. They commit liable, they are racists, they are blasphemies, they are biased and they are hurtful to visible minorities.

Maxamillion said...

Who ever thought we might say "Hooray for the Senate"