Her name is Lori and she looks nice enough. But she's the judge on the Canadian human rights commission who is punishing a Protestant pastor convicted of teaching the traditional Christian view of homosexual acts. Her ruling is unbelievable, which, where tramplings of freedom of speech are concerned, is becoming like the word "inconceivable" in The Princess Bride. Ezra Levant has the whole scoop. First, please note (citing the ruling now) In this case, there is no specific individual who can be compensated as there is no direct victim who has come forward...I guess Christianity is the new homosexuality --the victimless crime! Now get this:
Dr. Lund, although not a direct victim, did expend considerable time and energy and suffered ridicule and harassment as a result of his complaint. The Panel finds therefore that he is entitled to some compensation.That means his neighbors or people like me made fun of him on a blog subsequent to the pastor's sermon --and the pastor's gotta pay. Talk about your ex post facto laws! That means Canada is now punishing on the post hoc propter hoc principle.
Now we come to the punishment. It's a lifetime ban on ever saying anything negative about homosexuals.
Mr. Boissoin and [his organization] The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc. shall cease publishing in newspapers, by email, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the Internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals.
As bonus, they're also not allowed to ever speak about the complainant or his witnesses, and the pastor must make a written apology and try to get it published in the local paper. So it's not just freedom of speech that is being trampled, it's also freedom of religion. As Ezra Levant notes,
A second-rate government bureaucrat has ordered a Canadian pastor to publicly renounce his religious beliefs.Plus there's a $7000 fine for the damages the judge opens by admitting are non-existent, plus hearing costs. Let's let Levant review the carnage:
And Hollywood types want to run to Canada to escape the GOP! Unbelievable. I keep using that word.A Christian pastor has been given a lifetime ban against uttering anything "disparaging" about gays. Not against anything "hateful", let alone something legally defined as "hate speech". Just anything negative.
So a pastor cannot give a sermon.
But he must give a false sermon; he is positively ordered to renounce his deeply held religious beliefs, and apologize to his tormentor for having those views.
And then that pastor is ordered to declare to his entire city that he has renounced his religious views, even though he has not.
That's Alberta's human rights commission.
Update: A commenter here notes that all the countries typically lauded for their government health care no longer have free speech. Is it a one for one trade then?
