An incredible review from a surprising source

Eye Weekly is an arts-oriented magazine in Toronto -- very urban and left-of-centre in its political sensibilities. Which makes this positive review of Shakedown by Edward Keenan all the more striking. Here are some excerpts:

It is quickly becoming traditional, when one is about to praise Ezra Levant, to note that he is a self-aggrandizing blowhard. Even the introduction to his book, by fellow traveller Mark Steyn, makes the case. But I’m not inclined today to back into my support for Levant with condemnation.

When Levant was brought before a government bureaucrat to face possible punishment for publishing some cartoons in his magazine, he was asked to explain his motives. Because, you see, for those facing a certain type of justice in Canada these days, thoughts and motivations and associations are of primary importance, more so than any actual harm done. Levant answered, “We published those cartoons for the intention and purpose of exercising our inalienable rights to publish whatever the hell we want, no matter what the hell you think.” Which is good enough for me.

It doesn’t matter if he’s a self-promoter, or a right-wing ideologue or whatever. What matters is that in his book, Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights, which he's in town promoting today, he is raising an issue of grave national importance, and has been nearly alone in doing so. What matters is that he is right.

...One could go on and on about the absurd judgments this system renders, giving tens of thousands of dollars in awards to plaintiffs who are clearly more in need of psychological help than of justice, and in Shakedown, Levant does. He suggests the wholesale dismantling of the Commissions. And I see no reason to disagree with him. There is no right that cannot be adequately guaranteed by our traditional court system. The well-intentioned attempt to create a quick, hassle-free venue for ensuring victims of prohibited discrimination get justice has created a trail of outrageous injustice. And the very persistence of such a system undermines our entire justice system and makes a mockery of the commitment to human rights they claim to defend. We should dismantle the human-rights commission apparatus, as soon as possible.

And then, before we get on with our traditional opposition to Ezra Levant, we should thank him.

When a liberal magazine writes such a review, I am filled with tremendous hope that we can take this campaign for reform all the way to the finish line. Because it supports my thesis that freedom of speech is not a partisan issue, and it's not even "political" -- it's more foundational, more universal than that. It's part of the very fabric of our culture. I believe we now have overwhelming evidence that repeal of the censorship provisions of Canada's HRCs -- and perhaps other, deeper reforms, too -- is a political winner. Every media outlet from the right to the left is united in this matter. In other words, reform isn't just the right thing to do, it's the popular thing to do, too. That's a rare combination in politics, and I think that Prime Minister Stephen Harper should jump on it, and make this issue his own by co-opting Keith Martin's private member's motion about the CHRC.

It feels pretty good to me to receive this praise from a liberal source, praise not for compromising on any value, but rather the opposite: praise for standing firm on principle. The Conservative government could expect the same warm reaction, too.

It's safe to come out for freedom of speech now. Denormalization is more or less achieved. Now's the time for legislative reform. Which politician will be first?