My Non-Adventure at B.C.'s Kangaroo Court

I set the alarm for 6am sharp this morning, downed a large coffee, and was out the door by 7:15am. Walking downtown, it was a cool and overcast day in Vancouver.

I reached the courthouse before 8am and already a small, but determined group of Free Speech advocates were out in force, determined to show their support for Mark Steyn.


I learned from the security guard that the doors would open at 9am so my stomach told me to go grab some breakfast.

By about 8:55am a crowd of around 25 people had gathered in the upper foyer, barred from entering the main part of the building by a set of thick sliding glass doors. By this time I had befriended a young university student who had taken the day off work to attend this show trial. He asked if I was Andrew Coyne. I almost said yes but thought better of it! I also met an older man who identified himself to be from India and despairingly asked why more Canadians didn't realize what an incredibly slippery slope this trial represented.

At 9am the doors did open and the whole pile of us rushed downstairs, fervently in search of the infamously advertised Room #105. We passed large room after large room, all the way to the extreme back-end of the facility to discover a tiny little room, perhaps 30' wide by 50' long. Considering all the interest in this case, both nationally and internationally, it seemed rather odd that they would pick this room.

With every minute, more and more people started arriving, including Andrew Coyne, Ezra Levant, and Terry Milewski. About 9:15am a gentleman came out and announced that no cameras were allowed in whatsoever, including cel phone cameras. They all had to be checked in at the Sheriff's office at the front of the building. I saw most people smirk and ignore this but I thought it proper to check mine. So I did. Returning about 5 minutes later I sadly discovered the room was full and they would not admit any more people. So ends my participation today. And I never got to meet Mark Steyn. :-(

Incidentally, when I was walking back from the Sheriff's Office I met the 3 lawyers for the plaintiff: 1 man and 2 exceptionally pretty young women. The shorter of the two ladies was staggering down the hallway, clearly struggling under the weight of the heavy box she was carrying. I offered to carry it for her but she declined. Later I thought, "Isn't it interesting that while I completely support their right to free speech, they don't support mine." This didn't stop me from being a gentleman though!

I do wonder what will come of all this. I'm absolutely convinced that Heather MacNaughton and her little cabal have rigged this "trial" entirely from the start. I predict that they will either declare Maclean's (and Steyn) guilty in order to exert their own authority in this area -or- will find them innocent in order to protect the longevity of their own jobs. Either way, the independence of the "deciders" is completely at odds with any semblance of truth and justice.

You can follow the proceedings, minute-by-minute, via Andrew Coyne's excellent blog.