Canadian hate speech law still in contention

Federal court to decide whether it conflicts with Canada's Charter of Rights

"The upcoming appeal of Section 13, Canada's online hate speech law, "pits one set of rights -- human rights -- against another set of rights -- charter-guaranteed rights," according to a request for intervenor status by the African Canadian Legal Clinic.

The hate speech case against webmaster Marc Lemire, brought to the Canadian Human Rights Commission by activist lawyer Richard Warman, is to be reviewed in Federal Court, after a tribunal last year decided that Mr. Lemire did violate Section 13, but that the law itself is an unconstitutional limit on free speech.

The Federal Court's decision "will seriously impact the ability of African Canadians to seek recourse for this type of offensive and damaging yet non-violent speech. Because of the potential for a far-reaching, negative impact on the African Canadian community, the ACLC ought to be present at the judicial review to protect the community's interests."

Source

Freedom of expression is a "fundamental freedom" according to the Charter so there SHOULD be no doubt about the verdict but if Canadian courts are as irresponsible as SCOTUS, they should have no trouble driving a horse and cart through that.