Not exactly front-page news, but good news all the same from north of the world's longest undefended (?) border. Ezra Levant reports in today's Toronto Sun that Section 13 of Canada's Human Right Act -- the "hate speech" section -- is coming off the books.
S. 13 is the notorious provision of the CHRA that made it a crime to publish anything "likely to expose a person … to hatred or contempt". Read Mr. Levant's column for an explanation of why progressive thinkers in the Trudeau Liberal government of the day -- pushed by the now-defunct Canadian Jewish Congress and a commission headed by a chap named Cohen -- considered it necessary to criminalize political correctness.
That was done in 1977. For more than 30 years, Section 13 had a 100% conviction rate for the thought crime of hurting someone’s feelings. One of the most notorious prosecutions was that of internationally respected author Mark Steyn, who had the temerity to quote a Muslim leader to the effect that the Islamization of the West might not be such a good thing. The words complained of weren't even Steyn's own!
In today's column, Levant calls the law abusive, un-Canadian, and "ridiculous...in the age of the Internet". And now it's on its way out. Last Wednesday Canada's House of Commons voted in favour of Bill C-304, a private member’s bill which Walt predicted last November would pass. Lifetime pct .990.
Following royal assent, and a one-year phase-in period, Section 13 will be history, pulled out (Levant writes) like a noxious weed. Good for the Canucks. Pretty soon they'll be as advanced as the Americans, whose constitution has protected free speech since, errr, the 18th century.
Further reading: "Good riddance to Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act", by Jonathan Kay in the National Post.
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