Take Off, You Hosers

Not sure if you've been following the Ezra Levant case up in Canada. In short, the government is persecuting a magazine publisher based on his speech and unapproved motivations (on behalf of an offended Muslim complainant). It is an outrageous abuse of fundamental human rights (as understood by the liberal Western tradition), ironically perpetrated by the provincial Human Rights Commission.

Good news, though, the target, Ezra Levant is an absolute lion. He understands what is at stake and is as articulate and passionate in his defense as any son of the Enlightenment could hope for. You almost feel sorry for the Alberta government and the imam who started this mess, the way Levant mercilessly exposes them for the frauds they are. Almost.

The most recent development is that the complainant is meekly trying to withdraw the charges. Since Levant already has $100,000 in sunk legal defense costs and the continuing threat of governmental censure, he's not ready to accept a conditinal surrender. His post today is an object lesson is how to respond to those going out of their way to "mess" with you. Excerpt:

For two years, this corrupt, radical imam has hunted me using the resources of the taxpayers of Alberta for the "thought crime" of publishing a cartoon he didn't like. I had a preliminary discussion with my lawyer today. My aim is to file an abuse of process claim in the Court of Queen's Bench within the month. Whether or not I sue the commission itself, and its inquisitor Shirlene McGovern, is something I haven't discussed yet with my lawyers.

When the chief complainant in a two-year censorship exercise admits the whole thing was improper, an abuse of process suit is not just about recouping my losses. It's about holding a little fascist, and the government agency he hijacked, to account, and having grown-ups -- that is, real judges in real courts -- tell them that what they've been doing is morally and legally wrong.

Levant is right to keep fighting, in hopes of denormalizing this process and ending it for all. Because even if he took the offer to just walk away, that doesn't help others who are in the same cross hairs. Next up is Mark Steyn.

Not surprisingly, once a leftist governmental censor is permitted, it also targets the Catholic Church. Excerpts from Zenit:

Catholic Insight, a Canadian magazine known for its fidelity to Church teachings, has been targeted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission for publishing articles deemed offensive to homosexuals.

The commission has been investigating the Toronto-based publication since homosexual activist Rob Wells, a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Pride Center of Edmonton, filed a nine-point complaint last February with the government agency in which he accuses the magazine of promoting "extreme hatred and contempt" against homosexuals.

Father Alphonse de Valk, the founder and editor of Catholic Insight, disagrees the accusations. "Wells took three pages of quotes out of context," he told ZENIT.

The Basilian priest added that Catholic Insight "bases itself on the Church's teaching and applies it to various circumstances in our time." He noted that some of the statements that allegedly promoted hatred and contempt against homosexuals were taken from recent Vatican pronouncements.

This isn't the first time freedom of religion and conscience has been challenged, with less than inspiring results:

Christian groups have a losing record before Canada's human rights tribunals for alleged discrimination. In November 2005, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ordered a Knights of Columbus council to pay two lesbians $1,000 each in damages, plus legal costs, after the council declined to rent their hall to the couple for a same-sex marriage ceremony.

In 2000, the Ontario Human Rights Commission fined Scott Brockie, a Protestant print-shop owner, $5,000 for declining to print, on moral grounds, homosexual-themed stationary. The same tribunal fined London, Ontario, $10,000, plus interest, in 1997when Mayor Diane Haskett declined to proclaim a gay pride day for the city.

Let's hope this time the Church can get a defender as effective as Ezra Levant.

BTW, you can donate to Levant's legal defense fund at his web site. Here are his further thoughts on how to help.