Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
http://ezralevant.com/
I have just returned home from my session at the kangaroo court, called the Alberta human rights commission. Here is my opening statement that I delivered at the interrogation. I will post more details about the interrogation soon.
Alberta Human Rights Commission Interrogation
Opening remarks by Ezra Levant, January 11, 2008 – Calgary
My name is Ezra Levant. Before this government interrogation begins, I will make a statement.
When the Western Standard magazine printed the Danish cartoons of Mohammed two years ago, I was the publisher. It was the proudest moment of my public life. I would do it again today. In fact, I did do it again today. Though the Western Standard, sadly, no longer publishes a print edition, I posted the cartoons this morning on my website, ezralevant.com.
I am here at this government interrogation under protest. It is my position that the government has no legal or moral authority to interrogate me or anyone else for publishing these words and pictures. That is a violation of my ancient and inalienable freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and in this case, religious freedom and the separation of mosque and state. It is especially perverted that a bureaucracy calling itself the Alberta human rights commission would be the government agency violating my human rights. So I will now call those bureaucrats “the commission” or “the hrc”, since to call the commission a “human rights commission” is to destroy the meaning of those words.
I believe that this commission has no proper authority over me. The commission was meant as a low-level, quasi-judicial body to arbitrate squabbles about housing, employment and other matters, where a complainant felt that their race or sex was the reason they were discriminated against. The commission was meant to deal with deeds, not words or ideas. Now the commission, which is funded by a secular government, from the pockets of taxpayers of all backgrounds, is taking it upon itself to be an enforcer of the views of radical Islam. So much for the separation of mosque and state.
I have read the past few years’ worth of decisions from this commission, and it is clear that it has become a dump for the junk that gets rejected from the real legal system. I read one case where a male hair salon student complained that he was called a “loser” by the girls in the class. The commission actually had a hearing about this. Another case was a kitchen manager with Hepatitis-C, who complained that it was against her rights to be fired. The commission actually agreed with her, and forced the restaurant to pay her $4,900. In other words, the commission is a joke – it’s the Alberta equivalent of a U.S. television pseudo-court like Judge Judy – except that Judge Judy actually was a judge, whereas none of the commission’s panellists are judges, and some aren’t even lawyers. And, unlike the commission, Judge Judy believes in freedom of speech.
It’s bad enough that this sick joke is being wreaked on hair salons and restaurants. But it’s even worse now that the commissions are attacking free speech. That’s my first point: the commissions have leapt out of the small cage they were confined to, and are now attacking our fundamental freedoms. As Alan Borovoy, Canada’s leading civil libertarian, a man who helped form these commissions in the 60’s and 70’s, wrote, in specific reference to our magazine, being a censor is, quote, “hardly the role we had envisioned for human rights commissions. There should be no question of the right to publish the impugned cartoons.” Unquote. Since the commission is so obviously out of control, he said quote “It would be best, therefore, to change the provisions of the Human Rights Act to remove any such ambiguities of interpretation.” Unquote.
The commission has no legal authority to act as censor. It is not in their statutory authority. They’re just making it up – even Alan Borovoy says so.
But even if the commissions had some statutory fig leaf for their attempts at political and religious censorship, it would still be unlawful and unconstitutional.
We have a heritage of free speech that we inherited from Great Britain that goes back to the year 1215 and the Magna Carta. We have a heritage of eight hundred years of British common law protection for speech, augmented by 250 years of common law in Canada.
That common law has been restated in various fundamental documents, especially since the Second World War.
In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Canada is a party, declared that, quote:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights guaranteed, quote
1. “ human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely,
(c) freedom of religion; (d) freedom of speech; (e) freedom of assembly and association; and (f) freedom of the press.
In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed, quote:
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
Those were even called “fundamental freedoms” – to give them extra importance.
For a government bureaucrat to call any publisher or anyone else to an interrogation to be quizzed about his political or religious expression is a violation of 800 years of common law, a Universal Declaration of Rights, a Bill of Rights and a Charter of Rights. This commission is applying Saudi values, not Canadian values.
It is also deeply procedurally one-sided and unjust. The complainant – in this case, a radical Muslim imam, who was trained at an officially anti-Semitic university in Saudi Arabia, and who has called for sharia law to govern Canada – doesn’t have to pay a penny; Alberta taxpayers pay for the prosecution of the complaint against me. The victims of the complaints, like the Western Standard, have to pay for their own lawyers from their own pockets. Even if we win, we lose – the process has become the punishment. (At this point, I’d like to thank the magazine’s many donors who have given their own money to help us fight against the Saudi imam and his enablers in the Alberta government.)
It is procedurally unfair. Unlike real courts, there is no way to apply for a dismissal of nuisance lawsuits. Common law rules of evidence don’t apply. Rules of court don’t apply. It is a system that is part Kafka, and part Stalin. Even this interrogation today – at which I appear under duress – saw the commission tell me who I could or could not bring with me as my counsel and advisors.
I have no faith in this farcical commission. But I do have faith in the justice and good sense of my fellow Albertans and Canadians. I believe that the better they understand this case, the more shocked they will be. I am here under your compulsion to answer the commission’s questions. But it is not I who am on trial: it is the freedom of all Canadians.
You may start your interrogation.
Alberta Human Rights Commission Interrogation
Opening remarks by Ezra Levant, January 11, 2008 – Calgary
My name is Ezra Levant. Before this government interrogation begins, I will make a statement.
When the Western Standard magazine printed the Danish cartoons of Mohammed two years ago, I was the publisher. It was the proudest moment of my public life. I would do it again today. In fact, I did do it again today. Though the Western Standard, sadly, no longer publishes a print edition, I posted the cartoons this morning on my website, ezralevant.com.
I am here at this government interrogation under protest. It is my position that the government has no legal or moral authority to interrogate me or anyone else for publishing these words and pictures. That is a violation of my ancient and inalienable freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and in this case, religious freedom and the separation of mosque and state. It is especially perverted that a bureaucracy calling itself the Alberta human rights commission would be the government agency violating my human rights. So I will now call those bureaucrats “the commission” or “the hrc”, since to call the commission a “human rights commission” is to destroy the meaning of those words.
I believe that this commission has no proper authority over me. The commission was meant as a low-level, quasi-judicial body to arbitrate squabbles about housing, employment and other matters, where a complainant felt that their race or sex was the reason they were discriminated against. The commission was meant to deal with deeds, not words or ideas. Now the commission, which is funded by a secular government, from the pockets of taxpayers of all backgrounds, is taking it upon itself to be an enforcer of the views of radical Islam. So much for the separation of mosque and state.
I have read the past few years’ worth of decisions from this commission, and it is clear that it has become a dump for the junk that gets rejected from the real legal system. I read one case where a male hair salon student complained that he was called a “loser” by the girls in the class. The commission actually had a hearing about this. Another case was a kitchen manager with Hepatitis-C, who complained that it was against her rights to be fired. The commission actually agreed with her, and forced the restaurant to pay her $4,900. In other words, the commission is a joke – it’s the Alberta equivalent of a U.S. television pseudo-court like Judge Judy – except that Judge Judy actually was a judge, whereas none of the commission’s panellists are judges, and some aren’t even lawyers. And, unlike the commission, Judge Judy believes in freedom of speech.
It’s bad enough that this sick joke is being wreaked on hair salons and restaurants. But it’s even worse now that the commissions are attacking free speech. That’s my first point: the commissions have leapt out of the small cage they were confined to, and are now attacking our fundamental freedoms. As Alan Borovoy, Canada’s leading civil libertarian, a man who helped form these commissions in the 60’s and 70’s, wrote, in specific reference to our magazine, being a censor is, quote, “hardly the role we had envisioned for human rights commissions. There should be no question of the right to publish the impugned cartoons.” Unquote. Since the commission is so obviously out of control, he said quote “It would be best, therefore, to change the provisions of the Human Rights Act to remove any such ambiguities of interpretation.” Unquote.
The commission has no legal authority to act as censor. It is not in their statutory authority. They’re just making it up – even Alan Borovoy says so.
But even if the commissions had some statutory fig leaf for their attempts at political and religious censorship, it would still be unlawful and unconstitutional.
We have a heritage of free speech that we inherited from Great Britain that goes back to the year 1215 and the Magna Carta. We have a heritage of eight hundred years of British common law protection for speech, augmented by 250 years of common law in Canada.
That common law has been restated in various fundamental documents, especially since the Second World War.
In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Canada is a party, declared that, quote:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights guaranteed, quote
1. “ human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely,
(c) freedom of religion; (d) freedom of speech; (e) freedom of assembly and association; and (f) freedom of the press.
In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed, quote:
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
Those were even called “fundamental freedoms” – to give them extra importance.
For a government bureaucrat to call any publisher or anyone else to an interrogation to be quizzed about his political or religious expression is a violation of 800 years of common law, a Universal Declaration of Rights, a Bill of Rights and a Charter of Rights. This commission is applying Saudi values, not Canadian values.
It is also deeply procedurally one-sided and unjust. The complainant – in this case, a radical Muslim imam, who was trained at an officially anti-Semitic university in Saudi Arabia, and who has called for sharia law to govern Canada – doesn’t have to pay a penny; Alberta taxpayers pay for the prosecution of the complaint against me. The victims of the complaints, like the Western Standard, have to pay for their own lawyers from their own pockets. Even if we win, we lose – the process has become the punishment. (At this point, I’d like to thank the magazine’s many donors who have given their own money to help us fight against the Saudi imam and his enablers in the Alberta government.)
It is procedurally unfair. Unlike real courts, there is no way to apply for a dismissal of nuisance lawsuits. Common law rules of evidence don’t apply. Rules of court don’t apply. It is a system that is part Kafka, and part Stalin. Even this interrogation today – at which I appear under duress – saw the commission tell me who I could or could not bring with me as my counsel and advisors.
I have no faith in this farcical commission. But I do have faith in the justice and good sense of my fellow Albertans and Canadians. I believe that the better they understand this case, the more shocked they will be. I am here under your compulsion to answer the commission’s questions. But it is not I who am on trial: it is the freedom of all Canadians.
You may start your interrogation.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Time for me to bow out folks.
I have fought long and hard and with every ounce of strength in me for a log time. Now I am just tired and in constant pain from various lumps that have appeared all over my body. I have no idea what they are yet and I have been putting off going to the doctor as I hate hospitals and being poked around. However, though they may be just fatty tissue or something, the time has come to find out.
I cant do this stuff anymore. It has worn me into the ground and I feel like I am losing the plot here, but I urge you all to keep fighting as long as you can. Family is the most important thing in the world and if men do not fight for their own then they are not men.
For me personally, I think Christmas took too much out of me. It was heartbreaking to discover that my daughter, Martine, has a vindictive and nasty side with no understanding at all of the pain men are going through and no inclination to find out. Her contempt for our fight and struggle convinced me that many women are now beyond our reach. They have embraced selfishness to the point where neither children nor men, mean anything to them but as kind of accessories, like handbags. She has a wonderful side also. She can be kind and generous when the mood takes her and she is beautiful to behold so I have that to be thankful for. No matter what, I still and always will, love her.
My son, Jenson, on the other hand, showed me that he has the makings of a good man in him. He is strong, quiet, brave, kind, warm and humble enough to know when he has done wrong and to try and put things right. He is married to a lovely women and has a wonderful child. I love him and wish him all the very best.
I have worked with some amazing and dedicated people down the years. My thoughts remain with Grandad Lewis who first explained to me why feminism was so dangerous and divisive. He said to me something along these lines, "George. These women and their politics will push men so hard that one day they will have to fight back. Men will try to fight back in a well mannered way because it is hard for them to fight women any other way. I fear though," he said, "that the day will come when they will have to fight physically and dismantle feminism by force because, if they don't, they will have to watch their children suffer unbearable pain." It worries me deeply that we are getting closer and closer to that situation today. I hope I am no longer around when it comes.
I also remember many others who have tried to help along the way. Men and women who have given their time and effort to try and halt the madness that politicians, the press and women are imposing on our people. Joyce Farlane was a great friend. Now sadly passed away. Her last words to me were, "Fight until you cannot and then leave the battlefield proud that you have done all you can." I can think of no better way of doing it.
There are some amazing people out there and I am lucky to have met people like, Julia Swan, Michael Radwin, Davel Ellison, Walter Shnieder (Who I never met but would have liked too), Colin Bullen, Frank Latham, Paula Davis, Londey Selpa, Francis Abbot Mayfield, Ellen Fullmore, David and Linda Nesbit, Harold Arrington and on and on. The lsit is too long to mention them all here. People who have encouraged me and supported me along the way. People willing to be on the end of the phone to listen and help sooth the pain when things were darkest and who showed me great respect, even when I did not deserve it.
Thank you.
I have too many heros to mention but my biggest thanks go to Erin Pizzey, Cathrine Young, Wendy McElroy, Chuck Correy, Christina Sommers, Glen Sacks, Anne Harris, Donald Dutton, Cathy Young and hundreds more. People I have not always agreed with but who have done tremendously in their efforts to aid men, or simply to tell the truth. They are a credit to the human race because they have very public principles and will not lie down to be stepped on, no matter how much the system tries to bully them into silence.
There are some wonderful people in the men's movement and many in the fathers movement also. However, there are also some snakes in the grass. Men and women that make all the right noises but who are simply manipulative and nasty little bullies filled with a sense of their own importance. Some are fakes and have neither men's or fathers issues at heart.
My father used to say to me, "Son, there are two kinds of arsehole and both are equally dangerous. There is the arsehole who is smart and the dumb arsehole. To find out which is which, act dumb and act smart around them. Both will come baring down on you, waving their egos and claiming their superiority. Those who do not are not arseholes and can be trusted. The rest are not worth the effort."
He was right and it works! Thanks Dad!
To those who did not "wave their egos"....Thank you.
Too all the men out there who are hurting and wounded. Who, like me have suffered a lot of pain for a lot of years and been damaged by it. NEVER GIVE UP! You may have to stop fighting one day but NEVER stop trying to be better on the inside. When all the chips are down the only hand you hold is your own. Play it the best way you can and be proud because you sat at the table. Those who put you down are not worth the air they breath. You fought on despite the wounds you carried and that is the bravest warrior of all. Love your kids, learn to forgive your ex wife or partner and fight for others. That unselfish heart is the strongest heart of all.
One of the men who had the biggest impact on my life was a dear friend who I fought many a battle with and shared many a laugh. None of you know him apart form my children. His name was Hughie Keen and he was my father in law. He had the cunning of a fox. A sense of humour that was delightful. Kindness and tenderness that was deep and true and he was a man that in all the years I knew him, I saw him really angry only twice. He has gone now but I loved him dearly and will never forget him.
God bless your heart Hughie and thank you.
If just one person out there thinks I did something good during this fight then that is good enough for me and the battle was worth the effort.
Well, that's it. Take good care people. It's been......emotional.
George Rolph.
"Fight until you cannot and then leave the battlefield proud that you have done all you can." J. Farlane Died September 1999.
I have fought long and hard and with every ounce of strength in me for a log time. Now I am just tired and in constant pain from various lumps that have appeared all over my body. I have no idea what they are yet and I have been putting off going to the doctor as I hate hospitals and being poked around. However, though they may be just fatty tissue or something, the time has come to find out.
I cant do this stuff anymore. It has worn me into the ground and I feel like I am losing the plot here, but I urge you all to keep fighting as long as you can. Family is the most important thing in the world and if men do not fight for their own then they are not men.
For me personally, I think Christmas took too much out of me. It was heartbreaking to discover that my daughter, Martine, has a vindictive and nasty side with no understanding at all of the pain men are going through and no inclination to find out. Her contempt for our fight and struggle convinced me that many women are now beyond our reach. They have embraced selfishness to the point where neither children nor men, mean anything to them but as kind of accessories, like handbags. She has a wonderful side also. She can be kind and generous when the mood takes her and she is beautiful to behold so I have that to be thankful for. No matter what, I still and always will, love her.
My son, Jenson, on the other hand, showed me that he has the makings of a good man in him. He is strong, quiet, brave, kind, warm and humble enough to know when he has done wrong and to try and put things right. He is married to a lovely women and has a wonderful child. I love him and wish him all the very best.
I have worked with some amazing and dedicated people down the years. My thoughts remain with Grandad Lewis who first explained to me why feminism was so dangerous and divisive. He said to me something along these lines, "George. These women and their politics will push men so hard that one day they will have to fight back. Men will try to fight back in a well mannered way because it is hard for them to fight women any other way. I fear though," he said, "that the day will come when they will have to fight physically and dismantle feminism by force because, if they don't, they will have to watch their children suffer unbearable pain." It worries me deeply that we are getting closer and closer to that situation today. I hope I am no longer around when it comes.
I also remember many others who have tried to help along the way. Men and women who have given their time and effort to try and halt the madness that politicians, the press and women are imposing on our people. Joyce Farlane was a great friend. Now sadly passed away. Her last words to me were, "Fight until you cannot and then leave the battlefield proud that you have done all you can." I can think of no better way of doing it.
There are some amazing people out there and I am lucky to have met people like, Julia Swan, Michael Radwin, Davel Ellison, Walter Shnieder (Who I never met but would have liked too), Colin Bullen, Frank Latham, Paula Davis, Londey Selpa, Francis Abbot Mayfield, Ellen Fullmore, David and Linda Nesbit, Harold Arrington and on and on. The lsit is too long to mention them all here. People who have encouraged me and supported me along the way. People willing to be on the end of the phone to listen and help sooth the pain when things were darkest and who showed me great respect, even when I did not deserve it.
Thank you.
I have too many heros to mention but my biggest thanks go to Erin Pizzey, Cathrine Young, Wendy McElroy, Chuck Correy, Christina Sommers, Glen Sacks, Anne Harris, Donald Dutton, Cathy Young and hundreds more. People I have not always agreed with but who have done tremendously in their efforts to aid men, or simply to tell the truth. They are a credit to the human race because they have very public principles and will not lie down to be stepped on, no matter how much the system tries to bully them into silence.
There are some wonderful people in the men's movement and many in the fathers movement also. However, there are also some snakes in the grass. Men and women that make all the right noises but who are simply manipulative and nasty little bullies filled with a sense of their own importance. Some are fakes and have neither men's or fathers issues at heart.
My father used to say to me, "Son, there are two kinds of arsehole and both are equally dangerous. There is the arsehole who is smart and the dumb arsehole. To find out which is which, act dumb and act smart around them. Both will come baring down on you, waving their egos and claiming their superiority. Those who do not are not arseholes and can be trusted. The rest are not worth the effort."
He was right and it works! Thanks Dad!
To those who did not "wave their egos"....Thank you.
Too all the men out there who are hurting and wounded. Who, like me have suffered a lot of pain for a lot of years and been damaged by it. NEVER GIVE UP! You may have to stop fighting one day but NEVER stop trying to be better on the inside. When all the chips are down the only hand you hold is your own. Play it the best way you can and be proud because you sat at the table. Those who put you down are not worth the air they breath. You fought on despite the wounds you carried and that is the bravest warrior of all. Love your kids, learn to forgive your ex wife or partner and fight for others. That unselfish heart is the strongest heart of all.
One of the men who had the biggest impact on my life was a dear friend who I fought many a battle with and shared many a laugh. None of you know him apart form my children. His name was Hughie Keen and he was my father in law. He had the cunning of a fox. A sense of humour that was delightful. Kindness and tenderness that was deep and true and he was a man that in all the years I knew him, I saw him really angry only twice. He has gone now but I loved him dearly and will never forget him.
God bless your heart Hughie and thank you.
If just one person out there thinks I did something good during this fight then that is good enough for me and the battle was worth the effort.
Well, that's it. Take good care people. It's been......emotional.
George Rolph.
"Fight until you cannot and then leave the battlefield proud that you have done all you can." J. Farlane Died September 1999.
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