A Taste of Freedom - Conservative MP's bill passes, repealing oppressive 'hate speech' provision
Published: June 28, 2013
Free-speech loving Canadians everywhere are celebrating the passage of Bill C-304, a private members bill by backbench Conservative MP, Brian Storseth (Westlock-St. Paul). The Senate finally passed this monumental bill on June 26, 2013 despite opposition by the Liberals and NDP.
Bill C-304, dubbed the Protecting Freedom Act, deleted Section 13, the censorship provision within the Canadian Human Rights Act. Section 13 was an Orwellian part of the law which empowered the Canadian Human Rights Commission to find people guilty of what is best described as a "thought crime". Very often, the targets of these "hate speech" prosecutions were Christians who publicly expressed some disagreement with the homosexual lifestyle, or just simply shared their biblical view of marriage in some public forum.
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) functioned as "thought police", accepting frivolous complaints against Christians and small-c conservatives by individuals who claimed to have "hurt feelings". For the HRC to find you guilty, it was not necessary to show that you committed violence against a "protected group", nor even that you incited anybody else to violence. All that was required for a guilty verdict was for somebody belonging to a "protected group", usually homosexuals, to claim their "feelings were hurt". No evidence of harm was necessary.
Many Christians, including pastors and even the Catholic Bishop of Calgary have suffered harassment and serious persecution under this law. Under the power of Section 13, the Canadian Human Rights Commission literally had the power to censor speech and ban publication of politically incorrect opinions. At the same time, the HRCs let homosexual activists profit from significant cash fines awarded to them against the defendant, while their own legal fees were paid for by the state. Some pundits have described the tribunal process as one that incentivized serial complainers to "shake down" their political opponents for financial reward.
We thank God the censorship provision has been repealed at the federal level. Now, we hope and pray that the various provincial HRCs scattered throughout the country will likewise be defanged by their respective provincial governments. During Tim Hudak's campaign for leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, he promised to repeal the censorship provision from the Ontario Human Rights Code, but since that time has done nothing toward fulfilling his pledge.
In the meantime, we encourage you to send a note of thanks to MP Brian Storseth for being a champion of freedom in Canada. Email him at: [email protected]. In the areas of free speech and religious freedom, he has done Canadians a great service!