Killing and Chilling Free Speech, Canadian Style

By Guest Column Diana West —— Bio and Archives June 6, 2008

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By Diana West, Political Mavens.com “In the subterranean bowels of a provincial courthouse, a bizarre and frightening spectacle starts to unfold….”

So begins Brian Hutchinson’s account in the National Post (Canada) of the kangaroo court proceedings now underway under the auspices of something called the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. (Folks, we are now officially beyond the bounds of Orwell.) These proceedings are more than likely to culminate in a conviction against McLean’s magazine for printing an excerpt of America Alone, the best-selling book by columnist Mark Steyn arguing that Western democracy is imperiled by the spread of Islam. Why “more than likely”? Hutchinson’s story explains that Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress–who, btw, among other uncivilized things, believes all Israelis over 18 are “valid” targets for Islamic terrorism–"claims the Steyn excerpt denigrated and vilified Canadian Muslims and promoted hatred of an identifiable group.” Hutchinson continues: More...