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letters to the editor In defence of human rights tribunals I recently read an article by Ezra Levant, (Canadian Lawyer, "A travesty of a mockery of a sham," August 2008), which discussed defunct administrative tribunals, namely the tribunal in the Ma- clean's affair. That tribunal is investigating an article written by Mark Steyn that could only be described as downright hateful. In that article, Steyn describes having access to Muslim labour as being a "disadvantage," connects Islam to rioting in France and to a murder on a train in Belgium, in addition to describing Afri- cans as "tribal." The overall message was simple: it's us (the West) versus the barbarians at the gates. The ensuing human rights tribunal proceedings and the affair that emerged was quickly labelled as nothing more than an attempt by the barbarians to erode freedom of speech. Though I agree that the tribunal's ac- tivities may threaten free speech I am grateful to the commission, as it has fi lled a void left empty by the media. Very little criticism was levelled at the content of Steyn's article, and few journalists, perhaps imbued with the same post-Sept. 11, 2001 anger as the author, sympathized with those being targeted by the article. Thankfully, in Canada, the courts (not the media) are the voice of justice. CNN, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, and oth- ers sometimes print what amounts to rhetoric. Rhetoric that the average, uninformed, mentally lazy Canadian with imper- fect information would probably accept as the truth. Rhetoric that even educated people sometimes accept as the truth. For that, I am thankful that a kangaroo court is willing to provide a forum for hearing the grievances of any Canadians that were offended by this article. Indeed, in an age of mass media the courts may be our last public square. NICHOLAS P. ROBINSON Articling student, Merchant Law Group The complaints fi led with the B.C. Human Rights Commis- sion by the president of the Canadian Islamic Congress and by B.C. resident, Naiyer Habib, were the result of Maclean's magazine's refusal to publish a response to one of more than 20 articles which, among many things, represent that Islam condones sex with minors and animals, refer to Muslims as "sheep-shaggers," and allege that Muslims believe in drinking the blood of their enemies. Recently, on these pages, Ezra Levant smeared the B.C. HRC for hear- ing the case and claimed that the Ontario Human Rights Commis- sion dismissed a similar case in Ontario. In fact, the commission made a historic statement recogniz- ing the impact on Muslim Canadians of media-propagated Islamophobia: "The Commission has serious concerns about the content of a number of articles concerning Muslims that have been published by Maclean's magazine and other media outlets. This type of media coverage has been identifi ed as con- tributing to Islamophobia and promoting societal intolerance towards Muslim, Arab and South Asian Canadians." The commission referred to the article that forms the basis of the complaint before the B.C. tribunal as "an explicit ex- pression of Islamophobia," and cited as evidence a related blog initiated by the aforementioned Levant: "An extreme illustra- tion of this is a 'blog' discussion concerning the article that . . . among many things, called for the mass killing, deportation, or conversion of Muslim Canadians." So it is not surprising that Levant is smearing our HRCs; they have, after all, dared to cite his blogs and investigate his publishing of the infamous Danish cartoons depicting Mus- lims as suicide bombers. Standing fi rm, however, has been our Supreme Court. It has upheld the anti-hate provisions of the human rights codes based on the need to preserve equality rights and Canada's multicultural heritage. And that is what these complaints are about: preserving a society in which our differences are viewed as a source of strength, not suspicion. KHURRUM AWAN Osgoode Hall Law School class of 2007, Articling student Canadian Lawyer welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit for space, taste, and libel considerations. Please send letters to gcohen@clbmedia.ca and include your contact information. HOW WILL THE BEST LAWYERS FIND YOU? RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca Untitled-8 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T OBER 2008 7 6/9/08 2:02:49 PM