Macleans to Harper: Protect Free Speech

Maclean's magazine has a great editorial urging our politicians to scrap the infamous "Section 13" of the Canada Human Rights Act, which is used to squelch free speech.

Writes Macleans:

Stephen Harper used to have very clear—and colourful—ideas on human rights commissions and what should be done about them.

“Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society,” he said in a 1999 interview with Terry O’Neill of BC Report news magazine.“ It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff.” He went on to complain about the “bastardization” of the entire concept of rights in modern society.

Of course, that was back when Harper was president of the National Citizens Coalition. Today he’s Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister. And he appears to have lost his fear of totalitarianism.

Let's hope the Prime Minister regains, if not his fear of totalitarianism, at least his respect for free expression.

Section 13 has got to go.