Time Immortal

Syed Soharwardy would appear to have swung his opinion around to the side of right, at least as far as Canada’s human rights commissions are concerned.

When I initiated my complaint against Mr. Levant, I saw human rights commissions as a non-violent means of resolving differences among Canadians.

I was not aware of the controversies between the commissions and Canada’s faith communities. I am thinking specifically of my friend Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary.

Upon learning about the difficulties he and other faith communities have encountered with the commissions, I withdrew my complaint against Mr. Levant.

One of the reasons I chose Canada as my adopted homeland is because of our country’s great respect for religious freedom.

In Canada, I am free to be good Canadian and a good Muslim. There is no contradiction between the two.

In listening to the experiences of Bishop Henry and Pastor [Stephen Boissoin], I realized how precious religious freedom is to our country and how easily freedom is lost.

Strange words to hear from the man who took Ezra Levant to the Alberta HRC over the Muhammed cartoons…but if they are genuine, they are welcome, and it is thus good that he has shifted his thinking.

Update: Welcome, Steynians!

Bishop Fred Henry has tangled with the Alberta Human Rights Commission before, over remarks he made concerning gay marriage, and only avoided conviction by offering a clarification of what was said that apparently satisfied the plaintiffs to a sufficient degree. My own recollection of the incident is fuzzy, but I seem to remember that the clarification was nothing even remotely close to an endorsement of gay marriage.

Be that as it may, the good bishop has produced a scathing letter to Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, concerning the AHRC and its recent ruling against Red Deer pastor Stephen Boissoin.

Dear Premier Stelmach:

I have raised the issue of the Alberta Human Rights Commission several times with you in the past 18 months. On each of those occasions, you said that you understood the issues and shared my concerns. However, the situation is continuing to deteriorate across our country and the various levels of governments are seemingly non-responsive.

…

The conflict between social pressure and the demands of right conscience can lead to the dilemma either of abandoning a profession or of compromising one’s convictions.

Faced with that tension, despite the ruling of the commission, we must remember that there is a middle path that opens up before workers who are faithful to their conscience. It is the path of conscientious objection, which ought to be respected by all, especially legislators.

Every person has the right to have their religious beliefs reasonably accommodated.

Each judgment emanating out of our various human right commissions seems to be more brazen and bizarre than the one that preceded it. However, for inane stupidity and gross miscarriage of justice our own Alberta Human Rights Tribunal deserves to take first prize for its treatment of Stephen Boissoin.

June 2008: The Alberta Human Rights Tribunal fined Stephen Boissoin, $5,000.

Section 30 of the Alberta Human Rights Act states: “Evidence may be given before a human rights panel in any manner that the panel considers appropriate, and the panel is not bound by the rules of law respecting evidence in judicial proceedings.”

…

The tribunal effectively stripped Boissoin of his right to freedom of speech. “Mr. Boissoin . . . shall cease publishing in newspapers, by email, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the Internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals.”

…

The tribunal decided to extract a further pound of flesh by way of public humiliation. “Mr. Boissoin and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc. provide [Dr. Darren Lund] with a written apology for the article in the Red Deer Advocate which was the subject of this complaint.” What happens if Lund is not satisfied with the apology?

Mr. Premier, we have talked enough about the inadequate provisions of and appointment to the Alberta Human Rights Tribunals. It is time to repeal Section 3(1)(b) of the Alberta Human Rights Act and to protect the rights of religious freedom. Every person has the right to make public statements and participate in public debate on religious grounds.

The ruling against Pastor Boissoin was particularly egregious, and essentially amounted to forcing the man to recant some of his deeply-held beliefs; it was both an outrage and an absurdity, and highly offensive to anyone who places any value in the teachings of the Christian Religion. Bishop Henry has spoken out on divisive issues in the past, and his voice is a welcome addition to this cause.

Update: Welcome, Steynians! Binky raises an excellent point concerning how involved Catholics seem to be in the free speech struggle, especially when compared to the relative lack of vocal outpourings on the matter from Protestants. If your priest or preacher has spoken out on this issue, make sure to congratulate him or her for having done so. If your priest or preacher hasn’t spoken out on this issue…maybe take him or her aside for a moment to ask why.

We Christians, especially, have a real stake in this whole affair, and the body of Christ should be united on this issue. It should also speak out as one against the abuses of the HRCs.