Rob Breakenridge on the recent BCHRT Decision

An important read for everyone who values free speech.

The BCHRT Folds, In Order To Keep Their Jobs

Never has there been a more pathetic & ludicrous organization in British Columbia than the BC "Human Rights" Tribunal. They proved that yesterday by declaring Maclean's magazine and Mark Steyn innocent, flying in the face of their previous verdicts.

You can read about the entire kangaroo court decision here and here.

The Silent Hypocrisy of the Left is Deafening!

If you want to see what extreme hypocrites there are on Canada's Left then read this brilliant article by Anthony Furey.

Here's a follow-up letter to the editor:

A Visit to Ground Zero of the Kangaroo Court

What an afternoon! I made it down to the infamous Courtroom #105 at 800 Hornby Street.

Everyone was streaming out as I arrived. I spotted Andrew Coyne and went up and shook his hand, thanking him as one of tens of thousands of people around the world who are paying close attention to his excellent real-time blogging.

I also spotted the 3 fondly named "socket puppets". One of them, Khurrum Awan, now referred to by Ezra Levant as the "Serial Liar", was a whole lot shorter than he appears on TV. Simply an observation.

Just outside the court complex I saw Macleans' lawyer, Julian Porter, being interviewed by 3 reporters.


In this video he explains why he has refused to call any witnesses. Apologies for the poor sound quality.

About half an hour later I spotted none other than Mark Steyn heading into the local Starbucks across the street from the courthouse. I walked over and introduced myself. Mark was very engaging and we had a great chat for about 5 minutes. But I must say that energy-wise he seemed somewhat deflated. And no wonder. Imagine having to spend endless hours of your time, at your own cost, to defend your right to free speech. It's insane! Is this Canada in 2008 or some dictatorship 70 years ago?

Now a Plaintiff Doesn't Even Need to Appear!

Things have gone from bad to worse on the Absolutely Ridiculous front in the Twilight Zone otherwise known as the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Here are the last two entries from Andrew Coyne's blog from the hearing today:

3:26 PM We’re back from a break, and Faisal Joseph is announcing … they aren’t going to call any more witnesses! They’re not going to call their third and last expert witness, as it would merely repeat previous evidence, he sayd and they’re not going to call Meihir al Habib (I’ll check the spelling later), one of the complainants!

Julian Porter is furious. Then I’m calling al Habib! This is contemptuous of the process, he says, and disgraceful. He should be here to answer having laid the complaint. I was told I’d get a chance to cross-examine him. “I cannot believe” - he’s practically growling - “that they would have the audacity not to expose either one (meaning Elmasry, the other complainant) to cross-examination!”

Joseph: Talk about audacity. Steyn’s here, and he’s not testifying. I’m upset that I don’t get a crack at him.

Steyn snorts in laughter. (Possible reason: He was supposed to be in a radio debate with Joseph some time ago, but Joseph never showed.) Joseph expresses displeasure at this.

Porter (to the tribunal, quietly): “Do you have any idea how bad this looks?” He asks for five minutes to prepare, and then, I presume, he’s going to call Habib as a hostile witness. Stay tuned!

4:04 PM We’re going to adjourn for the day! We don’t even know whether we’re calling any more witnesses. If so, we’re back at 10 tomorrow. Otherwise, we hear final arguments on Friday.

Talk about a cliffhanger! Will Porter get to call Habib? Will Joseph cross-examine? Tune in tomorrow… same kangaroo-time, same kangaroo-channel…

Wait! Porter in on his feet: “If Habib and Elmasry are afraid to testify i don’t want them as my witnesses. They’re a pair of scaredy-pants, and…” I swear to God that’s what he said. The proceedings dissolve in even more confusion than usual…

Did you catch that? Neither complainant in this "case" is actually bothering to testify! That's the most outrageous thing I've ever heard, but just par-for-the-course for this Kangaroo Court. Once again, I encourage everyone to write BC's Attorney General, Wally Oppal, especially if you live in B.C. because your taxes are paying for all this!!!

CKNW Discusses the Kangaroo Court Case

The dearth of coverage of this case in the Canadian media is an absolute embarrassment. It's a clear indication of how so many in the media are towing the government line of political correctness. At the top of this list of Shame is the Globe & Mail.

But kudos must go to Jon McComb at CKNW who has dedicated the first half of his show today to this court case. You can listen to the first hour here and the second hour here. And beautifully, you can skip through the commercials too! In the first hour the discussion begins at 8:04 and in the second hour it begins at 16:47. Furthermore, in the second hour Ezra Levant is interviewed beginning around 36:30.

I called in, as did many others. There were only two people in support of this Kangaroo Court. One trying to argue that if Ernst Zuendel could be convicted by such a commission then so should Maclean's (and Steyn). My response to this would have been, "Zuendel, as offensive as he is, shouldn't have been brought in front of an HRC and neither should anyone else. But he could and should be brought in front of a criminal court."

Later, an older gentleman, called in, claiming his father was Jewish and had to leave Germany in 1934. Through some very twisted logic, he said that if the BCHRC existed in Nazi Germany then Hitler would have been stopped. McComb, shot back at him with extreme brilliance, disagreeing vehemently. The only thing I would have added is that Nazi Germany is proof positive of why all HRCs in this country should be stopped dead in their tracks.

Finally, Mark Steyn will be appearing on Calgary Radio Station CHQR at 6:00pm PDT (7:00pm MDT) tonight. You can listen in here.

Enough is Enough

This morning I was heartened to read some very strong words coming out of newspapers in Ottawa and Vancouver. It reassures me that I'm not the one living in a Twilight Zone. Other Canadians are as outraged as I am.

Here's a glorious article in the Ottawa Citizen by David Warren. Don't let these key parts escape your attention:

• The truth is no defence, reasonable intention is no defence, nor material harmlessness, there are no rules of evidence, no precedents, nor case law of any kind.
  
• The commissars running the tribunals need have no legal training, exhibit none, and owe their appointments to networking among leftwing activists.
• This is a news story that should be on the front page of every newspaper in Canada, every day until it is resolved.
• The Left may think they have found the ideal method to silence anyone who challenges their insane, "politically correct" ideas, but have instead created a monster that can as easily eat them next.
• Most of the victims of these neo-Maoist tribunals have been "little people," with nothing like the resources Maclean's magazine has put in play to defend itself and Steyn, and no media reporting whatever. They have been persecuted, stripped of their livelihoods and savings, demonized among their neighbours, made to endure humiliating "re-education" programs - without lawyers, without assistance of any kind -- all for exercising rights that any Canadian would have taken for granted a mere generation ago.

The Vancouver Sun published this article by Ian Mulgrew. Here are some important things he had to say:

• The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal is murdering its own reputation by putting on trial an offensive article published by Maclean's magazine two years ago.
• No matter how it rules in this case, the tribunal looks like a kangaroo court as a result.
• Our human rights bureaucrats are pushovers and our legislation is so loosey-goosey anybody can complain about anything, and does. And why not? To complain is to win -- the standard is hurt feelings, not actual damage or harm -- and the tribunal may "compensate that person for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect or to any of them."
• As chairwoman MacNaughton has already reminded everyone, the strict rules of evidence do not apply in this Mickey Mouse world.
• Sensitivity is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't trump our constitutional right to free speech: If you don't like Don Rickles, sarcasm or being insulted, develop thicker skin or stay home.

If you talk with any recovered drug addict you'll learn that they had to hit rock bottom before they could healthy again. Perhaps as a society, such a horrendous mockery of justice like this had to be brought out into the open before we could get healthy. For no true democracy, where free speech is held up in high esteem, would ever permit such Kangaroo Courts to operate.

Vancouverites ARE Starting to Pay Attention

CKNW 980 AM is the most listened to radio station in British Columbia. Their average number of listeners at any time during the day is approximately 166,000.

On the station today, their afternoon host, Jon McComb, had some very important words for those listeners. You can listen to what he had to say here. When Windows Media Player appears, move the slider to 36:15.

In your mind's eye, envision the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who were listening and are perhaps now starting to wake up to the travesty that is this case. McComb gives a well deserved hat tip to Andrew Coyne's excellent blog.

Keep listening, because caller "Joe from Chilliwack" asks why this Kangaroo Court case isn't on the front cover of every Canadian newspaper this week. Perhaps if the author of America Alone were named "OJ Steyn" then it would?!

An Open Letter to the Attorney General of British Columbia

Dear Mr. Oppal,

I do hope you are closely following the proceedings at the BC Human Rights Tribunal this week in Vancouver. At first glance it appears to just be a case against Maclean's magazine and the author, Mark Steyn. But in truth, it runs much deeper than that. Three employees of yours are carrying on with the farce that they actually have the right to decide what people can write, can say, and ultimately can think.

I have closely been following the real-time reporting coming out of the pseudo-courtroom. It has become blatantly apparent to any reasonable person that the trio running the tribunal are way out of their depth and appear to be arbitrarily making up the rules on-the-fly. This alone should trouble you deeply. But you should also be aware that the proceedings of this case are being closely followed by countless people from all around the world. Our province and the judicial system within are quickly becoming the laughing stock of the international community. This will eventually bring into disrepute the entire B.C. judiciary.

I therefore respectfully suggest to you, sir, that it is long overdue for you or a designate to firmly tap Heather MacNaughton on the shoulder and tell her that her time playing judge is over. She's not fooling anyone any longer.

Sincerely,

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC


Update: I strongly encourage EVERYONE to send their own thoughts to Mr. Oppal. He's a good man and means well. You can write him here. If you live in B.C. then talk about how you feel about such a Kangaroo Court operating in your province. If you live elsewhere, then talk about your perception of BC's Justice System.

A Counterfeit Court

Ezra Levant has his say. To read his accounting of today's events you'll need to go here and then scroll down to the first June 2nd entry. Then work your way back up to the top. It's truly unbelievable that such a judicial atrocity is occurring in Vancouver in 2008.

Kangaroo Court Update

It's absolutely fascinating to follow Andrew Coyne's live blog, which hundreds of people from around the world are commenting on. Everything is in real time!

To follow it, here's Part 1 and here's Part 2. If you are following it closely, remember that you can hit "F5" on your keyboard to refresh the page.

Keep in mind that Coyne is doing all this through his Blackberry because there's no WiFi in the courtroom. After 5 days of this, his thumbs will probably being black & blue like a blackberry!

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.

An Example of our Cowtied Press

Take a look at this article. I sent the reporter this note:

Salim,

Not one mention of the term "free speech" in your article? That's the 10-ton elephant in the room and you be ashamed of yourself for not mentioning it, doubly so because of the profession you're in. Maybe one day you'll wake up to the fact that your right to free speech is a very precious one. Though perhaps by then it'll be too late.

I will file no complaint with your employer but I am deeply embarrassed for you.

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC

Mark Steyn on TVO

In case you're wondering, here are the 3 Law Students on the show:

• Khurrum Awan
• Muneeza Sheikh
• Naseem Mithoowani

I have no dispute with their right to express their views. In fact, I strongly encourage it. But I find it disgusting and abhorrent that they're trying to silence Mr. Steyn from expressing his views. And then there's the whole issue of them trying to shake down Maclean's magazine.

Thankfully, their anti free speech views have now been exposed to the Canadian public and Canadians are rightfully appalled. While the three of them appear as well coiffed Yuppies, they are absolutely no different than the Thought Police George Orwell warned us about. While watching this video, don't ignore the fact that this trio are advocating that the Canadian Government be allowed to tell you and me what we're allowed to say and ultimately what we're allowed to think. Stop for a second to consider what this means. Potentially, one could use it to silence any blogger, any comment on any blog, any author, any journalist, and any writer of a letter to a periodical. If that doesn't scare the hell out of you then go and get some serious help!

I've actually read Steyn's book, America Alone, cover to cover. And in no way is what he wrote "hate speech". If you disagree then please give me the page and paragraph number of where I'm mistaken.

Barbara Hall: I Decide What You Can Say In Ontario

In 1953, author Ray Bradbury warned us about the Barbara Hall's of the world. In his landmark book, Fahrenheit 451, he described a society where "firemen" are not what they are today, but rather are agents of a totalitarian government which deemed that "all books are restricted, individuals are [considered] anti-social and hedonistic, and critical thought is suppressed."

Thankfully we're not there yet, but never forget the old proverb, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." In an ominous parallel to Bradbury's use of the word "firemen", Barbara Hall is the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Human Rights? Anything but. A more accurate name for it would be the Ontario Self-Righteous Wrongs Kangaroo Court and Star Chamber! For it has become clear that Hall and her commission see absolutely no problem trampling on the free speech rights of anyone who is not in lockstep with their views.

And she is not apologetic in the least. Using terms like "social justice" and "unfair bias", she and her pack of fellow anti-free-speech commandants go forth, strongly believing that it is their right and duty to tell people what they can say and ultimately, what they can think.

As I've stated before, I am especially sensitive to the issue of free speech because of my paternal heritage coming from Germany. No, I am not going to call Ms. Hall a Nazi because there is no fair level of comparison. But please read this excerpt from an excellent article on how the Nazis gained control of Germany prior to World War 2. From the article we learn that control was gained by:

(a) Control of mass media. All the means of communication were monopolized by the government. The press and the cinema had to show pictures glorifying the Nazi movements. The Ministry of Propaganda, in the hands of Dr. Goebbels, worked to build up the popularity of the Fuhrer.

(b) Control of education. Education, from kindergarten to university, was a toll for indoctrinating the young. Boys (10-18 years old) were sent to the Hitler Youth, girls (10-18 years old) to the Hitler Maidens. School textbooks were re-written along Nazi lines (e.g. race study was emphasized). University professors were required to wear swastika and take an oath of allegiance to Hitler.

Clearly we're not there yet but Ms. Hall and her ilk are planting the seeds. Those seeds need to be dug up and destroyed before they can do any more damage.

To learn more about this issue, please read here and here and here.

The Editors of Maclean's Finally Speak Up

The editors at Maclean's have just published an extremely important editorial entitled "Human rights commissions are undermining the fundamental Charter rights of all Canadians. Protest while you still can." You can read it in full here.

6 months after Mark Steyn's America Alone excerpt was published, a group of Osgoode Hall law students demanded a meeting with Maclean's, which they granted. The students threatened to launch a human rights complaint against the magazine and possibly a criminal action lawsuit as well unless the following demands were met (direct quotes) :

1. The right to respond with an article of equivalent length, by a writer of their choosing and with a cover of their own design. The editors of this magazine would have no opportunity to edit the article except for spelling and punctuation. According to their terms, they would be free to write anything they wanted, however inaccurate or unreasonable or offensive or libelous or criminal or otherwise unsuited for our publication.
   

2. They also wanted a substantial sum of money donated to a charity of their choice.

Maclean's refused, of course. Blackmail & bribes may be common in the countries where some of these students come from, but in Canada it is simply unacceptable. To think that these students will become Canadian lawyers and possibly judges one day scares the living daylights out of me, but that's a separate issue.

Here's the letter I just sent to Maclean's:

Thomas Sowell, the African-American academic & columnist, recently wrote the following: "Among the many wise things said by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was that you are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. Yet an incredible number of people make up whatever 'facts' are needed to support whatever they choose to believe."

Bravo to all of you at Maclean's for taking a stand and not caving into the politically correct blackmail that seems de rigueur today. I pray that your actions will be remembered by historians as a significant course correction in our country.

Rex Murphy Speaks Out FOR Free Speech

Rex Murphy, of the CBC, speaks out in support of Mark Steyn and Maclean's magazine.

If you wan to read something really scary - and dare I say NON-CANADIAN - then take a look at many of the comments on the CBC website. It's rather disturbing to me that most every commenter with a Muslim sounding name was completely against Murphy. I have to believe that these people grew up outside of Canada because no Canadian I know would ever be against free speech. I'm sorry for what Mark Steyn has to go through but it's now clear that this debate is long overdue.

A Pivotal Moment For Free Speech in Canada

Free Speech is under threat in Canada. By the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) no less! They're contending that Canadian writer, Mark Steyn, had no right to say what he did in Maclean's magazine. If you haven't heard about this yet it's no big surprise, for the Canadian media, especially the liberal media, are deathfully afraid of being politically incorrect. So they've imposed a tragic silence on several controversial issues for many years now.

The CIC isn't suing Steyn in a court of law. Instead, they're petitioning a series of "Human Rights Commissions" to try to silence Steyn. These pseudo-judicial bodies are nothing more than kangaroo courts but they're easy targets for manipulation. Should the CIC be successful with even one of their petitions, then we will definitively know that free speech in Canada is clearly a distant memory.

Thankfully some more enlightened Muslims are speaking out against the CIC's actions. They include Ali Eteraz and Tarek Fatah & Farzana Hassan.