Bi-partisan human rights event on Parliament Hill a success

I was in Ottawa yesterday for a bi-partisan human rights event in support of my book, Shakedown. It was co-hosted by Liberal MP Keith Martin, and Conservative MP Rick Dykstra. More than 230 people showed up -- it was so big, it literally filled the hall and spilled into the street.

It was a private event -- that is, it wasn't open to the general public or even to the media, though a few free speech bloggers did sneak in! The purpose was to give Members of Parliament, Senators and Hill staff a chance to learn more about Canada's corrupt and abusive human rights commissions, and the a pressing need for change.

I think we accomplished that goal.

We had about 50 MPs and Senators there, including plenty of cabinet ministers. To my delight, the RSVP list included Liberal and Bloc Parliamentarians, too. Liberal Senator Grafstein addressed the audience on behalf of the Liberal Party, as Dr. Martin had to go to the airport.

Even though I can be a partisan Tory, it was important to me that the event be non-partisan. That's because freedom of speech is not the turf of just one party or just one political philosophy. It's the foundation for all parties and all it's central to our entire political system. It's the basis of all public debates, and it's even the root of the word Parliament itself.

To emphasize this point, I wore my Liberal Party cufflinks, which were given to me years ago by my dear friend, former Liberal Party president Stephen LeDrew. I was so busy throughout the evening that I didn't have a chance to visit with every MP or Senator, but I did see when Liberal MP Paul Szabo showed up, and I greeted him warmly, personally escorting him into the hall and showing him those cufflinks!

Sen. Grafstein's comments were touching: he acknowledged that he had personally been involved with the creation of Canada's human rights commissions, and that he regretted their wayward course. He actually said he wished he had lost the debate decades ago. I found that quite touching -- and his criticisms of the radicals who now run the commissions was very powerful, given Sen. Grafstein's impeccable human rights credentials.

Rick Dykstra spoke next. Keith Martin was the first MP to move a motion on the subject of free speech, and several months later Dykstra became the first government MP to move a resolution on the subject in a Parliamentary committee. Both have been leaders on the issue, and Dykstra's office helped with the logistics for last night's event. A big thank you to Jim, James and Lloyd for their great work in spreading the word about the event, and working diligently throughout the evening. We were aiming for 100 people, and we got more than double that -- and on a voting night, no less!

Mark Steyn was the star of the evening, of course, and scores of people had brought their copies of America Alone for him to sign. The local Chapters brought hundreds of copies of Shakedown. I thought it was a ridiculously big stack when they arrived, but they reminded me that they quickly sold out at the last book-signing I did in Ottawa. At the end of the evening, they told me they had sold 200 books, which is pretty incredible. I signed a lot of copies, including for Ministers Clement, Strahl, Yelich, Baird, Finley, Ambrose (and Ministers Kent, Kenney and Fletcher were there, too). And there were plenty of MPs and Senators, from almost every province. I'm sorry I can't name everyone -- I didn't even have a chance to see everyone!

Most of the people in attendance were staff, ranging from Parliamentary interns to chiefs of staff. I was particularly pleased to see so many folks from the Prime Minister's Office there. I hope that the tidal wave of bi-partisan enthusiasm in that room gave them encouragement to make the decision to repeal section 13, the censorship provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act. It would truly be a bi-partisan affair, and I hope they do it.

After the reception, Laureen Harper hosted Steyn and a handful of other long-time free speechniks at 24 Sussex Drive. It was a pretty great way to end the day.

Debbie Gyapong and Blazing Catfur have some great reports, with a lot of photos and even some video clips. You can see them here, here, here, here, here and here.

Mitchel Raphael was there with his camera for Maclean's magazine; his pictures will likely show up here.

I hired a photographer, too, and I'll post his pictures, probably next week.