dissing the US is hate speech in Kanada

[Dynamite Bob]

lenn Bohn and Kim Bolan
Vancouver Sun


                   Wednesday, October 10, 2001

                   A University of B.C. women's studies
                   professor who criticized U.S. foreign
                   policy has been accused of a hate crime --
                   publicly inciting hatred against
                   Americans.

                   An unidentified B.C. resident alleged Oct.
                   4 that assistant professor Sunera Thobani
                   violated the Criminal Code of Canada
                   during an Oct. 1 speech to a women's
                   conference in Ottawa, RCMP Corporal Michael
                   Labossiere of the B.C. hate crime unit said Tuesday.

                   Thobani, a former president of the National Action
                   Committee on the Status of Women, said in an
interview
                   Tuesday she had not heard anything about the
complaint
                   and she is curious to know who made it.

                   "This is just pure harassment," she said. "They are
trying
                   to silence dissent in this country."

                   Thobani said her speech was intended to explain how
                   U.S. foreign policy has affected life in many
countries of
                   the world.

                   "If you point to the factual record of U.S. foreign
policy,
                   you are now accused of spreading hate," she said. "It
                   really is unbelievable."

                   The RCMP's Labossiere wouldn't disclose any more
                   specifics about the complaint or the complainant. He
said
                   he forwarded the complaint to the hate crimes unit of
the
                   Ottawa-Carleton police force, which has jurisdiction
in
                   the area where the offence is alleged to have
occurred.

                   Ottawa police Detective Frank Corkery, a member of
                   Ottawa's hate crime unit, wouldn't confirm whether
                   police there are investigating Thobani.

                   Corkery said police generally don't discuss ongoing
                   investigations or reveal the subject of an
investigation
                   until charges are laid and it becomes public
knowledge.

                   However, the detective added: "Any complaint made to
                   the hate crimes section is taken seriously and is
                   investigated on the substance of the complaint.

                   Labossiere, who last week reported bomb threats had
                   been made against Islamic mosques in Vancouver and
                   Surrey, said he went public with the complaint
against
                   Thobani to show that majority groups can potentially
be
                   targets too.

                   "Here we have a complaint against someone who is
                   obviously from a visible minority, whom the
complainant
                   feels is promoting hate," he said.

                   "Normally, people think it's a white supremist or
                   Caucasians, promoting hate against visible minorities
. . .
                   We want to get the message out that it's wrong, all
                   around."

                   Section 319 of the Criminal Code of Canada allows for
a
                   jail sentence of less than two years for anyone
convicted
                   of the "public incitement of hatred" against an
                   identifiable group of people, when the comments lead
to
                   a breach of the peace.

                   An "identifiable group" is defined as any section of
the
                   public distinguished by colour, race, religion or
ethnic
                   origin.

                   However, the same section also provides some broadly
                   worded legal defences. For instance, no one can be
                   convicted "if the statements were relevant to any
subject
                   of public interest, the discussion of which was for
the
                   public benefit, and if on reasonable grounds he
believed
                   them to be true."

                   Murray Mollard, a lawyer and executive director of
the
                   B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said that, legally,
a
                   charge against Thobani would be an uphill battle for
the
                   prosecution.

                   Mollard also said the state shouldn't prosecute
someone
                   who criticizes public policies in a democratic forum.

                   "This is absolutely the wrong thing to do," he said.
"We
                   need to have an open debate about our response to
Sept.
                   11."

                   Thobani received a standing ovation at the Women's
                   Resistance Conference in Ottawa after she argued that
the
                   U.S. government -- not international terrorists -- is
the
                   most dangerous global force, "unleashing prolific
levels
                   of violence all over the world.

                   "From Chile to El Salvador, to Nicaragua to Iraq, the
                   path of U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood," she
said
                   in comments that received front-page coverage in
                   Canada's daily newspapers, including The Vancouver
                   Sun.

                   Many Canadians said Thobani's speech was an ill-timed
                   and anti-American attack, while others accused the
                   mainstream news media of a McCarthy-style witch-hunt.

                   Thobani said Tuesday she has been stunned by the
                   reaction to her comments.

                   While she said she has received a lot of support, she
has
                   also been shocked by hateful e-mails and telephone
calls
                   not just from within Canada, but from the United
States.

                   "It is just unbelievable what it is like," Thobani
said. "I
                   am just getting sent all this porn and hate mail."

                   She said the past week has made the controversies
during
                   her term as president of the National Action
Committee
                   on the Status of Women "seem like a piece of cake."

                   But, she said she doesn't want to restrict her life
because
                   of the hate mail and threats, even though it has
disrupted
                   her life and her job.

                   "I have security outside my class," Thobani said.

                   Convictions for public incitement of hatred are rare
in
                   Canada, but not unprecedented.

                   In 1982, Alberta public high school teacher Jim
Keegstra
                   was fired for teaching students that the Holocaust --
                   where millions of Jews died in Nazi concentration
camps
                   -- was a fabrication of a "Jewish conspiracy" that
wanted
                   to destroy Christianity. The courts later convicted
                   Keegstra of promoting hatred and ordered him to do
200
                   hours of community service work.

                   In 1999, a Christian evangelist in Ontario was
convicted
                   of inciting hatred against Muslims in flyers he
distributed
                   and in a phone-line message. Mark Harding received a
                   three-month conditional sentence and was required to
                   perform more than 300 hours of voluntary service for
the
                   Islamic community.