Announcing the Union of Bloggers

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the need for Canadian bloggers to form a mutual aid society to protect themselves from unwarranted attacks on their freedoms.

I have recently experienced one form of those attacks -- an out-of-control government "human rights commission" grinding me through a punitive, costly and arbitrary process for two years because I published cartoons that allegedly hurt someone's feelings. And I've observed the other form, much more frequently: in the past few weeks alone, I've seen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 baseless threats of defamation against Canadian bloggers (plus 6, 7 against me), none of which have real merit, but all of which are designed to frighten bloggers (usually conservatives) into censoring themselves.

The common thread amongst all of these threats is that they're not legitimate legal actions to remedy a real tort committed by bloggers. The blog posts in question all contain true facts and fair comments; no real defamation action lies against any of them. These threats are intimidation tactics -- bullying -- dressed up in legal robes.

And, unfortunately, they often work. Not because bloggers make a thoughtful decision, with competent legal advice, that they ought to retract a truly false and defamatory statement, but because bloggers make a panicked decision, without legal advice, in fear of the cost and hassle of a lawsuit, and in the hopes of appeasing the threatener. Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about this sort of thing.

When I mused about a mutual aid society for bloggers, I immediately received several requests for help. Even though I haven't set up the structure for the Union of Bloggers yet, I've accepted two of them, and I have permission to write about one of them: It's Warren Kinsella's absurd threat against a blogger named Blazing Catfur.

What did Blazing Catfur do? He engaged in satire, which is the deadliest weapon against humourless censors. He demonstrated the foolishness of Kinsella's logic that:

• Dr. Keith Martin -- a Liberal MP, human rights activist, and visible minority -- wants to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act;
• Some white supremacists want to amend the CHRA too;
• Therefore Martin's idea is tainted by association. 

I thought Blazing Catfur's satirical deployment of that absurd guilt by association logic was far more powerful than any stern criticism. And I think Kinsella did, too, or else he wouldn't have threatened a lawsuit against Blazing Catfur and another blogger, Mike Brock, who engaged in a similar satire.

So the Union of Bloggers -- before we're formally incorporated -- has a case.

But that's not the most interesting part of the story.

I contacted Kinsella to advise him that I was legal counsel for Blazing Catfur. I didn't expect what came next.

First, Kinsella demanded to know if I was licensed to practise law in Ontario. I thought it was a trick question: all Canadian lawyers now have the right to practise law across the country. I thought Kinsella was just joking around, but he wasn't -- he genuinely didn't know that, and he told me he was going to immediately (it was Sunday night, if I recall) write a letter to the Law Society to put a stop to my shenanigans!

Interprovincial mobility is probably the single largest change to the practise of Canadian law since law firms were allowed to advertise; the fact that Kinsella didn't know that -- and even doubted me when I gently broke the news to him -- was stunning. I'm guessing the guy doesn't do a lot of law, though he talks a good game to bloggers.

The next item of weirdness came quickly: I gave Kinsella my address for service of his legal documents -- where he should send all future correspondence and any lawsuits. I use a great old Alberta firm called McLennan Ross as my agents, and I gave their contact info to Kinsella. Again, all standard practise. But this, too, seemed to freak Kinsella out -- he modestly demanded that Blazing Catfur be represented by an Ontario lawyer (perhaps a lawyer of his own choosing?) And, war-room-style, he fired off another angry e-mail to McLennan Ross's partners. (My lawyers and I had a good laugh about it, but McLennan Ross -- all class -- wrote back politely.)

And then Kinsella demanded to know the identity of Blazing Catfur. And when I confessed that I didn't know it, he made another legal boo-boo -- claiming that meant he wasn't obligated by the notice provisions of Ontario's libel laws.

I thanked Warren for his time, and recommended that he hire a real libel lawyer to help him out. Kinsella's Lionel Hutz-like ignorance about legal mobility, agents for service and libel notice wouldn't be caught by a non-lawyer blogger, who might believe Kinsella's PR about being a legal jedi. But I admit I was stunned -- maybe I, myself had actually bought the hype that Kinsella was a tough customer. I felt like I was dealing with an articling student of the calibre of Khurrum Awan, or Jason Cherniak. (What is it with all of these Liberal lawyers anyways?)

It's been a week, and I haven't received any libel notice, or even a demand letter, from Kinsella or his lawyers about Blazing Catfur. Maybe it's still coming. Or maybe Kinsella's lawyer is slowly going over with him, uh -- how do you say it? -- the law. Just because someone hurts your feelings, doesn't mean you have a human rights case. And just because someone makes fun of you, doesn't mean you have a defamation case.

I mention all of this because it goes to the heart of the Union of Bloggers. Part of the idea of the mutual aid society is that if a Kinsella were actually to launch a defamation action and fight all the way, there would be a group with the legal, financial and political resources to be there all the way. But the bigger idea is that bloggers no longer live in fear of baseless lawsuits, and engage in self-censorship or -- worse -- issue grovelling apologies for doing nothing wrong other than hurting someone's political feelings. That's what really happens -- bloggers give up without a fight, because they're scared. I'm here to say there's nothing to be scared of.

That's Kinsella: all talk, no action. Lots of bullying when it comes to non-lawyers. Lots of self-congratulatory spin. But the first time a blogger -- the hilariously named Blazing Catfur -- lawyers up, Kinsella falls apart. I've never had a lawyer try harder to bump me from a case before its even began. I'd take that as a compliment, but I get the feeling Kinsella would try to bump any real lawyer off the case -- he's not used to a level playing field.

Of course, I hope Kinsella simply forgets his threat against Blazing Catfur. But if he did decide to double down, it would be a great case for the Union of Bloggers: the facts and the law are on our side, and Kinsella is hyper-sensitive to embarrassment. I have to admit, I'd enjoy beating him, and I'm sure Blazing Catfur would, too.

That's it for now. I'll keep you posted on Kinsella's next move, if there is one other than quietly backing down. That's not his style; but neither is he accustomed to dealing with a blogger who actually fights back.

As to the details of the Union of Bloggers, I hope to have those finalized this month, ranging from the monthly dues payment (I'm guessing $1/month per blogger) to the rules of engagement. In the meantime, I'm taking Blazing Catfur's case pro bono -- but if folks feel like chipping in, they can hit the PayPal button on the Union of Bloggers site.

I don't know about you, but I feel like the blogosphere is freer already.