Intellectual freedom in Canada: Randy Hillier, running for leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, targets "human rights" commission

I received one of Hillier's fundraising letters a few days ago. His first action point is "an end to the Ontario Human Rights Commission which is attacking free speech in this province."

Actually, the Commission is attacking far more than that now, though free speech has been their major target for some years.

Blogging outrageous decisions is not enough; it is a political problem and requires a political solution.

I can never bring myself to lose the scare quotes (" ") when talking about the "human rights" commissions. That's because it is scary to think that the commissioners probably don't realize how Orwellian* their operation has become. But more and more of the public does realize, because the scope of Commission decisions has widened rapidly and is ever more tenuously linked to traditional concerns about fair play in employment and housing. (*This link takes you to Mark Steyn's testimony at a legislature hearing into the Ontario Commission. I was with the banned, and I taped it.)

In The National Post (May 15, 2009), Hillier writes,

Sincere principled dissent is not just something to be tolerated in a free and democratic society; it’s the very wellspring from which our democratic traditions flow. Without such principled dissent, it should be remembered, our society might never have rid itself of the scourge of slavery; women might still be denied the right to vote and Jews might still be barred from entering Canada, as they were for a time under the federal Liberal party’s policy of “none is too many.” - from "Randy Hillier: The right not to be pushed around by government"

The ruling Liberals, headed by Premier Dalton McGuinty, can either preempt Hillier on this growing issue or stoutly defend the Commission. The latter would link the Liberals to the Commission's persecutions.

I just wish Hillier hadn't made his second action point "bringing back the spring bear hunt to help our northern and rural communities" Many urbanites who have never seen a bear outside a zoo will be marching and sitting in at the drop of a hat. Here's the yay for the hunt and here's the nay. Make up your own mind.

Ontario conservative leadership race highlights intellectual freedom

Civil rights lawyer Ezra Levant writes:

I should have devoted more attention to the leadership contest for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Four candidates ran in that election -- Tim Hudak, Frank Klees, Christine Elliott and Randy Hillier. And -- amazingly -- reform of Ontario's out-of-control human rights commission became the central policy debate of the race.

Stop for a moment to reflect on how incredible that is. That simply wouldn't have happened two years ago, or perhaps even a year ago. That is a testament to the denormalization of Canada's HRCs, and how politically-aware Canadians (particularly those of a conservative stripe) have taken a keen interest in the subject.

As I noted in April, it was Randy Hillier, the great libertarian MPP, who first raised the subject, with his simple call for the abolition of Ontario's HRC. I loved his motto: real justice, real judges.

Tim Hudak saw the common sense of Hillier's position -- and its political appeal -- and dittoed Hillier's position. He had a few phraseological nuances -- he'd simply refer such matters to real courts, and get rid of the more obscene counterfeit human rights, like the "right" not to be offended. I wrote about it here.

I noticed the Toronto Star freaking out over Tim Hudak yesterday. I wrote about Hillier here


Usage notes: I use the term "intellectual freedom," not "free speech" because the latter suggests a drunk yelling profanities on a street corner. Legal, perhaps, but not important. It's the big ideas that today's censors want to suppress. Like, is gay marriage right or wrong? And, by the way, on that particular subject the censors are all alone out there. The gay people are not asking for censorship of opposing views.

Also, I use the term "civil rights" rather than "human rights." Civil rights are the rights of citizens (and landed immigrants and all lawful occupants of this country). They have a history. We can explain in detail why they are what they are. "Human rights" seem, by contrast, to be whatever a human rights commissioner makes up as she goes along.

Intellectual freedom in Canada: "human rights" commissions, spreading the oppression, may trigger their own well-deserved destruction

Civil rights lawyer Ezra Levant advises that

I'm pleased to report that Tim Hudak, considered a leading contender for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, has announced that he would abolish that province's human rights tribunal. Hudak becomes the second PCPO candidate to make that pledge, the first being Randy Hillier, which I wrote about here.

I am waiting to see what the ruling provincial Liberals' response will be.

Will they support the oppression despite growing public awareness and unrest?

Or will they preempt the Conservatives by shutting down the censors, shakedown artists, and social engineers?

Ezra Levant's book, Shakedown, is in the top ten in Canada, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who lives in a free country and would like to keep it that way. Mark Steyn's Lights Out is another top pick, providing a key international overview.

I hope they tie for #1 spot.

I wrote to Ezra, re Hudak's announcement:

1. Here's why I think we can't win:

Government never gives up power willingly, and some people enjoy the role of bully - whether as a Nazi or as a "compassionate" HRC officer (who issues orders that wreck your life, career, and reputation for a completely insane reason).

My concern is that many freespeechers overestimate the value of protests, resolutions, and revelations of scandal, and underestimate the value of sheer, dogged determination, following a political strategy - for however long it takes - to rid our government of social engineers.

The social engineers are the heirs of the eugenics movement. It took the Holocaust to make them so unpopular that as soon as they were identified, almost everyone wanted to get rid of them.

The itch to run or destroy others' lives re-emerged with the current variant strain - the "human rights" commission movement.

2. But here's why I think we can win:

Each outrageous decision, aggressively claiming new territory, radicalizes a new group of citizens against the growing oppression.

Maybe restauranteur Gator Ted doesn't read commentator Mark Steyn (who was charged under the Ontario HRC).

But given that Gator is dragged through a hell of destruction because he asked a guy smoking pot in his doorway to leave, every restaurant owner needs to pause and ... think. "Should I just ignore this fellow's plight, or should I help disarm the menace before it comes round to me?"

Fine, ignore Gator Ted and others in a similar plight.

Next time, it will be a different menace - and it might be yours:

How about this?

- A cook who refuses to follow public health guidelines for hand washing because she has skin problems? [disability rights may trump the health and safety of clients]

- A waiter who refuses to serve a dish that contains ingredients forbidden in his religion? [an employee's religious rights may trump the customer choices that are key to the business's survival.]

- A person who overhears a conversation at the next table that she finds offensive, and blames the restauranteur for creating an environment that exposes her to "hate"? [the owner may be responsible for however anyone "feels" on the premises.]

In normal Canadian society, the first two people would be advised to seek other employment and the second to ask the maitre d' to move her to another, better table.

But under the "human rights" regime, the business owner may face the loss of the business, because the plaintiff's fees are paid by the taxpayer. But the accused/convicted (it often amounts to the same thing) is on the hook for all fees and awards to the plaintiff in a hostile system.

Also, the accused/convicted cannot recover from the plaintiff if, by chance, he escapes the net after spending tens of thousands of dollars. Can we all spell Shakedown?

Business owners of Ontario: Don't wait till it happens to you. Act now. Support the reform!