An Alberta election issue?
There's just over a week left in Alberta's provincial election, and so far no single issue has lit up the campaign.
In today's Calgary Herald, editorial pages editor Licia Corbella suggests that Alberta's abusive human rights commission should become an election issue and takes the unusual step of calling for readers to contact Ed Stelmach, the premier, even giving out his contact information. Some excerpts:
...But if all of those boys and men who fought against certain tyranny in two world wars don't speak loudly enough from their foreign graves about the price and value of freedom for Stelmach to hear clearly, perhaps it's time for living Albertans to actually raise a ruckus if not arms.
The Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act is being used to stifle and trample our most fundamental human right. The human rights complaint brought against Ezra Levant, publisher of the now defunct Western Standard magazine, is proof positive of that.
For the past two years Levant has had the almost limitless power of the state grinding away against him, costing him about $100,000 for doing what he should have every right to do: publish news and images in a magazine. In this case, he published the now infamous Danish cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
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A Calgary imam and a Muslim group from Edmonton didn't like the cartoons, sought to have Levant first arrested and then, when that didn't work, they sicced the human rights commission on Levant to shut him up.
But Levant, to his credit, isn't the type to shut up or appease those who attack Canadian values, and so the threat to freedom of expression has become almost as big a news story as Britney Spears of late.
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The "provision" [Canadian Civil Liberties Association President Alan Borovoy was] talking about was enacted in 1996 when the Alberta government added the following section to its now inappropriately named human rights act: 3(1) No person shall publish, issue or display or cause to be published, issued or displayed before the public any statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation that . . . (b) is likely to expose a person or a class of persons to hatred or contempt." Borovoy says speech that denies people equality is already well covered by the act and hate speech is covered by the Criminal Code. Borovoy therefore has a solution to restore human rights to Alberta's human rights commission.
"I think the removal of this section is necessary, but it may well not be sufficient," he warned. "I think there's no substitute -- as with so many other things -- for a lot of vigilance at the citizen level." Vigilance at the citizen level? He means you and I doing our bit to stand on guard for the values of this country, not the values of Saudi Arabia or Syria.
It's time freedom of expression became an election issue and Albertans secured a promise from Stelmach to protect it. As his quote would indicate, he needs help understanding what needs to be done, so let's tell him. Call him and tell him you want Section 3(1)(b) removed from Alberta's human rights act. Tell him you want him to stand up for your most fundamental right.
You can call 780-427-2251 or toll free at 310-0000 and ask for the premier's office. Because of the election, his e-mail address is shut down. However, you can fax him at 780-427-1349. Or send a letter to: Premier Ed Stelmach, Executive Branch, 307 Legislature Building, 10800 97th Ave., Edmonton, AB T5K 2B7.
Democracy requires free speech. By practising both now, you'll help protect both for the future.
That's a pretty powerful call to action. I wonder how many calls and faxes the premier is getting -- but I also wonder if he even cares. Remember, the Alberta government took the unprecedented step of sending a lawyer to intervene against a Christian pastor in a recent human rights case, arguing that his freedom of religion and freedom of speech was trumped by an officious bystander's right not to be offended. See paragraph 222 in the ruling, where the Government of Alberta argued that:
"...if people were allowed to simply hide behind the rubric of political and religious opinion, they would defeat the entire purpose of the human rights legislation."
or paragraph 240:
"It is the Attorney General’s position that there is no such thing as "discriminatory political and religious expression", speech is either legitimate or it is discriminatory."
Those are deeply illiberal, un-Canadian ideas, and even more offensive in Alberta, historically the freest province. It's fair to say that if Stelmach doesn't repudiate those ideas, argued on behalf of his government, that he accepts them -- that he believes the right not to be offended trumps political and religious freedom, and that he believes any speech that is "discriminatory" (what does that even mean?) is "illegitimate".
Not that Stelmach has even thought much about these things; Licia refers to this audio clip of the premier giving an incoherent answer to a question about human rights commissions. But again, is his own answer any less coherent than the illiberal, illogical mush his lawyers presented to the human rights commission?
I must take a moment to mention the Alberta Liberals' principled and bold response to the same question. And my acquaintance with Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman makes me believe that he shares that belief in freedom, though I can't find any comments from him or the party on the subject -- I think he ought to weigh in, at least as vigorously as the Liberals have.
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