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BC HRT on Steyn article: We deem it publishable
by Scott Gilbreath ~ October 11th, 2008
The bullies and cowards at the BC Human Rights Tribunal have rejected the complaint against Maclean’s magazine over the excerpt from Mark Steyn’s book America Alone.
The panel has concluded that the complaints are not justified because the complainants have not established that the Article is likely to expose them to hatred or contempt on the basis of their religion. Therefore, pursuant to s. 37(1) the complaints are dismissed.
To reach its pusillanimous verdict, the tribunal split a hair that, to my knowledge, it has never split before: The article incited “fear” but not “hatred and contempt”. Causing readers to “fear Muslims” is now said to qualify as “political debate”.
“But fear is not synonymous with hatred and contempt,” the tribunal wrote. “With all its inaccuracies and hyperbole, [the article] has resulted in political debate which, in our view, [B. C.'s hate speech human rights law] was never intended to suppress. In fact, as the evidence in this case amply demonstrates, the debate has not been suppressed and the concerns about the impact of hate speech silencing a minority have not been borne out,” the tribunal wrote.
By that standard, the Rev Stephen Boissoin should not have been silenced.
Neither the complainants nor the defendants are happy about the decision. Andrew Coyne, Maclean’s national editor:
[I]t is no victory to be told by a shadowy government agency that you will be permitted to publish. This ruling only preserves the tribunal from utterly discrediting itself, and as such keeps alive the possibility that some other complainant can drag Maclean’s or any other media organization through yet another travesty half-a-continent away, at great expense of time and money.
Mark Steyn calls the decision a “joke”.
For once, I agree with Faisal Joseph, lawyer for the Canadian Islamic Congress.
Mr. Joseph said the outcome could have been different if the tribunal had not “unilaterally changed the [legal] test” for establishing hatred and contempt, preferring a purely objective test over an earlier, more subjective one that focused on how the alleged hate message was understood by recipients.
He’s right: The BC HRT had to turn this country’s “human rights” jurisprudence on its head to acquit Maclean’s. The CIC should appeal. Mark Steyn has offered to donate $1000 to the cause.
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October 11th, 2008 at 11:22 AM
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