: : Qx: If you're so against hate-speech laws then try to tell us why they're bad. Most Canadians are familiar with their speech codes but if you respond we can expect some real doozies and this could get fun. The spectacle of you digging your self ito a deeper hole in this debating room may not have reached it's deepest point yet.David: It has been 5 years since I lived in Canada so I am not up to date on the recent political actions going on in Ottawa. However, there are a lot more censorship laws out their. A good friend of mine works for the Waterloo Record and one of the laws that I can think of off the top of my head is they are not allowed to publish opinion polls three days before an election in fear of causing "bandwagon mentality"
amongst the readers.
Qx: Which may be a good thing when one looks at the antics of the likes of Conrad Black and Southam Inc. BTW, The Kitchener-Waterloo Record's recent history is a bit on the corporatist side and its questionable as to whether or not it is truly an independent newspaper. With groups such as the Fraser Institute attempting to prostitute Canada it's not surprising that people feel that corporate media should be regulated. If there is censorship it's certainly not the kind of censorship that mainstream media in Canada acknowledges.
David: In regards to the hate-speech laws, there is a quote by Moliere (or Voltaire, damn I cannot remember which) that basically does like this; "Though my very essence may detest what you have to say, I would lay down my life to defend your right to say it."
Qx: Nicely said but did he ever meet Ernst Zundel or Magazine's hateful bunch of writers? I think not. We're living in a different era in which rightwingers of various sorts are doing their damndest to smear anything and anybody who they deem to be the enemy. I feel that Canada still has to exchange its libel laws which are basically the same as the UK's but the are needed in a country where tolerance is absolutely necessary. Indeed with the intentions of the likes of Conrad Black, Southam and even the Byfelds mainstream Canadian media is much more under the control of monopolies than mainstream media in the USA. Of course, it's interesting how hate sppech laws seem to cover only racial and ethnic miorities but not workers organizations.
David: I suggest you read the Federalist No. 10 for a good essay by James Madison on factions in a federalist republic.
Qx: I suggest that you read Stephen Leacock and other Canadians if you really want to understand Canadian politics. Dredging up some dead rich dude from the States doesn't cut it. Taking on the American model has resulted in the likes of Brian Mulroney, Mike Harris, and Ralph Klein. How many more ingrates does a country need?
