Government of Alberta: We're fine with Rev. Boissoin's gag order

see update, below

Lindsay Blackett, the freshman Alberta MLA who is the Minister for Culture and Community Spirit (I'm not kidding), has finally responded to the avalanche of mail he received when his government sentenced Rev. Stephen Boissoin to a lifetime ban on preaching his Christianity. He supports the ban.

More than two months ago, Blackett's fellow Tory, Lori Andreachuk, was the human rights commissioner who issued a Stalinist order telling Rev. Boissoin that he not only was banned -- for life -- from criticizing homosexuality, even in sermons or private e-mails, but that he had to positively renounce his faith in the local newspaper.

(You can read my analysis of that ruling, here.)

Andreachuk's unconstitutional ruling wasn't some independent decision, at arms length from Blackett's government. The Government of Alberta positively sent in a lawyer to argue in favour of convicting Rev. Boissoin. It's the only case I've ever read where the government sent in a lawyer to tell the human rights commission what to do. And they did it, with gusto. You can read my analysis here.

After thinking very hard about all this, Blackett's office sent out its replies today. Here it is. I've highlighted a few parts:

-----Original Message-----
From: CCS Minister [mailto:CCS.Minister@gov.ab.ca]
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 2:17 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: Reply from the Minister of Culture and Community Spirit [redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted]:
 
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission.  

Every Albertan has the right to live free from discrimination. The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission has a two-fold mandate: to foster equality and reduce discrimination.  It fulfills this mandate through public education initiatives and the resolution and settlement of complaints of discrimination.

If Albertans feel that their rights are not being respected, they can discuss their concerns with the Commission. The Commission is required to accept all complaints that fall within its jurisdiction.  A large number of these complaints are resolved by meeting with the two parties and trying to mediate a solution.  For others that can't be resolved, there is an established process in place to address the concerns raised that provides an opportunity for both parties to be heard.

The Albertans Human Rights and Citizenship Commission operates independently of government and its work is guided by the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act.  As an elected official, I do not become involved in the day-to-day activities of the Commission, nor do I comment on individual cases.  The Act protects people from discrimination in a number of areas including publications and notices, employment, services and tenancy. Within these areas, Albertans are protected on grounds such as race, colour, ancestry, disability, gender and religious belief.  The Act includes a variety of appeal provisions to ensure that the best decision is made in each case.  

Government recognizes the importance of reviewing all legislation from time to time to ensure that it is meeting its intended purpose.  We will be taking your views into account as we examine Alberta's human rights policies and legislative framework to ensure it supports all Albertans.

Thank you again for writing and sharing your ideas. 

Sincerely, 

Lindsay Blackett
Minister of Culture and Community Spirit
MLA, Calgary-North West

I despise letters like that. They're what the Brits call bumf. They don't answer the question -- they seek to distract, daze and confuse. But they're never effective. I can sum up the above letter more succinctly: "We don't care what you think, and don't respect you enough to say so honestly. So we'll give you a bucket full of cliches and buzzwords. Go pound sand."

The letter claims that religious views are protected in Alberta. But that's clearly not true. Rev. Boissoin is specifically ordered not to preach sermons about homosexuality. He's been ordered to publicly renounce his faith. To say that his religious views are protected is a falsehood.

The letter also claims that the government doesn't interfere with particular cases. Again, that is not true. The government sent in a lawyer, named David Kamal, to argue not only in support of the law, but its application against Rev. Boissoin. Kamal argued -- on behalf of the Tory cabinet -- that Rev. Boissoin's real religious rights should be trumped by the fake "right" not to be offended. Blackett's letter is a lie.

I'm sure that the censors at the Alberta human rights commission are delighted with Blackett's letter. It's carte blanche for them to continue their anti-Christian persecution. Remember, only a few years ago, they pursued Bishop Fred Henry for daring to write a letter to his diocese about same-sex marriage.

Given Kamal's intervention against Rev. Boissoin, I suppose Blackett's letter was never really in much doubt. Still, there was an intervening fact: the HRC's Stalinist order gagging Rev. Boissoin received international attention. I suppose the Alberta Tories just don't care -- with a big majority in the Legislature, and the next election probably not until 2012, why should they care?

I was starting to think that Alberta's HRC would drop the charges against me, because of the negative publicity they would receive if they took me to a full-blown hearing. Like the Canadian Human Rights Commission making the strategic decision to drop their case against Maclean's magazine and Mark Steyn, I thought the Alberta HRC would let me go, so they could focus their abuse on smaller, quieter targets than me.

Blackett's whitewash of the HRC -- his effective endorsement of their persecution of Rev. Boissoin -- has caused me to think again. Sure, taking me to a full-blown trial would make the government of Alberta even more of an international laughingstock. But Blackett's letter suggests they don't care about being a laughingstock, and they certainly don't care about being anti-Christian. Again, I'm only pointing out the obvious -- for they did send in a special lawyer to argue for Rev. Boissoin's conviction.

It's starting to feel more and more like the old, arrogant, bullying Press Act of 1938 -- one of Alberta's most embarrassing moments.

Normally, I'd suggest sending an e-mail to Blackett, here. But really, what's the point?

UPDATE: Another reader sends me his letter from Blackett, containing an extra paragraph:

You asked why the Attorney General intervened in the Lund v. Boissoin human rights case. When a constitutional issue is raised by one of the parties to a case being heard by a court or by a tribunal, such as a human rights panel, the party raising the issue is required to notify the Attorney General. In the Lund v. Boissoin case, Reverend Boissoin raised a constitutional issue, notified the Attorney General as required, and the Attorney General appeared to address that issue.

That last sentence, again, is a falsehood. True, the government's lawyer, David Kamal, did attend to defend the constitutionality of the law. But he did much, much more than that. He made specific arguments about Rev. Boissoin's case, condemning him as guilty. Kamal could have ignored Rev. Boissoin altogether, if he really was sent there just to support the existence of the law. He could have not mentioned a word about Rev. Boission. But he actually argued that Rev. Boissoin's religious speech was illegal. Kamal spent much of his time rebutting Rev. Boissoin's personal defences -- not just his constitutional challenge.

Another lie by Blackett and the Stelmach government. But that's how it goes, doesn't it? On Monday you're convicting Christian pastors for being Christian; on Tuesday you're sentencing them to lifetime bans on preaching; on Wednesday you're ordering them to falsely renounce their faith. By the time the end of the week rolls around, merely lying to voters doesn't seem like a big deal, now does it?