Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Red Deer Advocate to Alberta HRC: We're Not Your Propaganda Organ

Rev. Stephen Boissoin said no to Alberta's freedom snatching committee. The Red Deer Advocate has finally found some courage to do the same. Here's what they say about the ruling which orders them to publish Rev. Boissoin's letter of apology (which he won't provide) along with the commission's seven-page Decision on Remedy:
The galling presumption of the rights commission to subvert a newspaper’s own judgments over whether, when or where it should publish coerced opinions offers a window into its dangerous thinking.

The commission has its own website where it can readily publish any and all of its documents. Curiously though, more than two weeks after its Decision on Remedy was handed down, that ruling was not posted.
Why bother? Who's going to read it there? The commissars want publicity; they want public humiliation for Rev. Stephen Boissoin and they believe that a mass-circulation newspaper suits better for that task rather than their website of which nobody is aware.

Here's a couple more things that concern the Red Deer Advocate:
The more fundamental and serious defects of the rights commission surround its flawed processes that can lead to repressive and dangerous fallout.

Canada has criminal laws against libel and expressing hatred. Those laws are applied in courts, after police investigations and careful review by skilled prosecutors.

They are argued by lawyers before a judge, in a legal framework with rules of evidence that protect all sides.

The Alberta human rights commission, and others like it across the country, lack these tested and protective structures.

But their findings have the force of law.

The effects of how their processes are applied and findings are enforced endanger free speech and liberty.
In its ruling, the adjudicator (formerly - a divorce lawyer) Lori Andreachuk suggested that publishing the letter of apology along with the committee ruling in a local newspaper would "educate and hopefully prevent actions of this nature in the future". They couldn't force Rev. Stephen Boissoin to denounce his views. And the only educational effect they've achieved is educating more people about the true meaning of the fancy words "human rights commission".

1 comment:

WWW.EN.CL said...

very thoughtful... I found about about this case via a video posted to youtube, originally aired on CTS (Crossroads Television)-- I believe Mr Boissoin has a case to take before the HRC for discrimination against his rights!