Bob Rae Wants PM To "Come Clean" On CHRC

Bob Rae is concerned that a victory of Tim Hudak in Ontario could jeopardize the Federal Star Chamber. He wants Stephen Harper to publicly pledge not to scrap the freedom-snatching commission:

Mr. Rae was responding to the fact that five Conservative cabinet ministers and 15 other Conservative MPs have endorsed candidates for the Ontario Progressive Leadership campaign who have called for the abolishment of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

So far, Transport Minister John Baird, Industry Minister Tony Clement, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, along with MPs Dean Allison, Gord Brown, Patrick Brown, Paul Calandra, Barry Devolin, Rick Dykstra, Royal Galipeau, Daryl Kramp, Pierre Poilievre, Joe Preston, Gary Schellenberger, David Sweet and David Tilson, have endorsed candidate Tim Hudak.

Conservative MPs Scott Reid and Cheryl Gallant have both endorsed candidate Randy Hillier.

Both Mr. Hudak and Mr. Hillier have made the abolishment of the Ontario Human Rights Commission a centrepiece of their campaigns for leadership.

(Source)

Yep! And then Bob Rae should demand Harper to assure Canadians that he does no longer adhere to any Conservative values and that, if he stays in power, he'll keep governing like a Liberal.

Hopefully, Stephen Harper does take a stand on the issue, but not the one Bob Rae is looking forward to:

Mr. Harper has said:

“Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society…It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff.” (BC Report, January 11, 1999)

Well said, Mr. Harper! How about doing something to get rid of of those freedom-snatching commissars? If you believe this stuff is less scary now than it was 10 years ago - listen to your own party; it's been just half-a-year since the Conservative party delegates voted almost unanimously to remove subsection 13(1) from the Human Rights act. How come the bill to do just that still hasn't been introduced?

And here's what Bob Rae himself thinks of the Orwellian tribunals:

“...Human Rights Commissions, like the Ontario Commission, provide a vital resource to the community. They are an avenue to handle claims and disputes in a manner that is far more financially accessible than litigation,” said Mr. Rae.

“They can never replace courts of law, but they help to assure that principles of fundamental justice – namely access to justice and fairness – are available to all Canadians...”

Sure, a quasi-judiciary tribunal where truth is not a defense, where the defendant is presumed guilty until proven innocent and must pay for his own defense while the complainer gets all expenses paid - that kind of establishment sure stands for fundamental justice and fairness.

Bob Rae says that the Liberals "believe in the protection of minorities and minority rights, and ... support legislation, commissions and tribunals that aim for those goals". What about our rights? How come special interest groups' implied right not to be criticized outweighs our freedom of speech and our right to a fair trial?