Astonishing upset in Warman v Lemire
September 2, 2009 Canadian Politics, Freedom of Speech, Internet, Political Correctness 2 CommentsBy Dalwhinnie
A major blow was struck at the basis of Canadian hate speech controls by this judgment of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
In the Human Rights Tribunal decision of Athansios Hadjis, the Tribunal has ruled that the constitutionality of section 13(1) of the Human Rights Act is in grave doubt, and refused to find Lemire guilty on that basis. The specific extension of the hate-speech prohibition to the Internet was contained in section 13(2), adopted by Parliament in 2001.
The Commissioner found that the measure (suppression of free speech in the way section 13 envisages) was disproportionate, in that it was not a minimal impairment of the Charter right of free speech.