Gov't MP: HRCs "overstepped their original mandates", "must be curtailed"

Here is a letter he sent to a constituent yesterday (I have deleted the name for privacy reasons). Let me excerpt at length, with some of my favourite parts in bold:

...human rights commissions operating at various levels of society are in need of major reform. In particular, the authority of these bodies to challenge the right of freedom of expression on grounds of offensiveness, without evidence, must be curtailed. Recent complaints lodged against Mark Steyn of MacLean’s Magazine and Ezra Levant of the Western Standard Magazine are indicative of the baseless nature of many complaints lodged under the authority and legislative mandates of these commissions.

Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental freedoms in Canada, and it should not be eroded be special interests or legalistic wrangling. A motion recently put forth in the House of Commons by MP Keith Martin, M-446, will be an important first step in making the needed changes to human rights law in Canada...

This section allows complaints to be filed before unelected officials without any evidence, and it forces defendants to mount a legal defence on the basis of the perception of discrimination. Similar provisions exist within Canada’s Criminal Code for the protection of human rights, yet the Criminal Code stipulates that the burden of evidence must fall on the plaintiff and due process must be accorded.

In my opinion, these human rights commissions have overstepped their original mandates in recent cases, and as such I will support motion M-446 when it comes up for debate in the House of Commons.  The human rights protections legislated in the Criminal Code are effective and fair, while Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act allows the erosion of Canadians’ freedom of expression. This very freedom is an integral part of Canada’s national identity and motion M-446 will ensure that it is protected from unfounded attacks in the future.

There's a lot of really good stuff in there, that you just don't hear too often: freedom is an integral part of our national identity; special interests and lawyers have abused the system. I like Rajotte's description of Keith Martin's bill as merely a "first step" -- that implies that more reforms are needed. I agree!

Rajotte has a reputation as a thoughtful MP, not one prone to rash comments or actions. He has also been close to Stephen Harper since before Harper was the leader. For an MP with Rajotte's gravitas to dig in so deeply on this file is a sign of where the center of the Tory caucus likely lies. The details of his letter, too -- his point that we already have criminal code provisions; his point that in HRCs, respondents have unfair processes and high costs -- shows that he has paid a lot of attention to this file, especially for a man whose official portfolio is completely unrelated.

Please take a moment to give Rajotte your encouragement, by clicking here. And, if you haven't done so already, find your MP here (or here, by postal code) and send him or her a note, too.