Freedom of Speech Takes Another Hit in Canada

From LifeSiteNews comes a report of Alberta pastor Stephen Boissoin being fined $7,000 by the Alberta Human Rights Commission. What was his terrible crime? He uttered non-state-approved speech.

Pastor Boissoin sent a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which he said homosexuality is immoral and dangerous, and questioned the wisdom of new homosexual rights curricula being used in Alberta's educational system.

From the article:

"The point I am trying to make here is what's being attacked at the core is what I believe, according to my personal beliefs and my religious beliefs."

The pastor also maintained that his beliefs are founded not on hate or malice, but derive from a personal concern for the family and society, a concern that is rooted not only in faith, but also in science.

"I am not allowed to hold my views, but the Lunds of the world are allowed to bring gay ministers into schools, they are allowed to present scientifically baseless teachings to kids that people are born gay."

By the way, Pastor Boissoin says he will NOT apologize as the commission also required: "Absurd - beyond absurd. I will never make a public apology; I stand by what I said."

Canadians don't have the same Bill of Rights we enjoy in the United States which enshrines our liberties in our nation's highest law. They do, however, have the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which essentially has a similar function. Section 2 of the Charter does guarantee, among others, "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication."

Politically correct Canadian laws, along with their Gestapo-like "human rights commissions" are running roughshod over Canadian freedom of expression with hardly a bleat from the rest of Canadian government.

"Well, that's just Canada," you might say if you're an American. "We have the Bill of Rights to protect us here."

Have you forgotten that the United States Supreme Court has already been consulting foreign law in the "interpretation" of U.S. judicial decisions? Have you forgotten that the American Left is perpetually telling us how America needs to be like the other socialist countries around the world?

Consider this statement by Justice Russell Juriansz, Ontario Court of Appeals on the American approach to free speech:

It seems fair to say that the American view is becoming a minority one in the world. Canada is part of what appears to be growing global consensus, which observes that careful restrictions of some forms of speech are both desirable and necessary.

In other words, if your group is deemed to be one of the "protected class" then no one can even speak against you, much less do real harm to you. And if you want to speak out against one of the "protected" ones for whatever reason, then you become a criminal if you do.

How long until the assertion that the United States, the first and foremost leader of freedom in the world, is branded "out of step" with the ideas of "freedom" shared by the rest of the world? And how long until this assertion is leveraged to force U.S. government to abandon any semblance of true freedom of expression?

Since people are already starting to be punished in the United States for exercising their freedom of expression and freedom of religion, probably not long...