We're going to need a big push to
wrap this up. Let's git 'er done.
Posted on 11/29/2014 5:33:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Oh, Canada. Our neighbor to the north has tremendous appeal for many people. Conservatives love their vast energy resources, hunting, outdoor sports opportunities and – until recently – the fabulous comedy show of the Toronto mayor’s office. Liberals adore their socialized healthcare system, Justin Bieber and the fact that George W. Bush was never president there. But in case you were thinking of moving to the Great White North you should keep in mind that even for all of its wonderful features, Canada does not have any sort of assured freedom of speech. This is a lesson that Canadian conservative writer and broadcaster Ezra Levant learned to the tune of $80K.
An Ontario judge who heard a defamation lawsuit against Sun News Network host Ezra Levant ruled Thursday that the controversial media personality libelled a Saskatchewan lawyer in a series of blog posts the judge said were “motivated by malice.”
Justice Wendy Matheson ordered Levant to pay $80,000 in damages to Khurrum Awan and remove “defamatory words” about the man from his website within 15 days.
“I find that the defendant’s dominant motive in these blog posts was ill-will, and that his repeated failure to take even basic steps to check his facts showed a reckless disregard for the truth,” Matheson wrote in her decision.
Awan was completing his articling and looking for work as a lawyer when the statements were posted online by Levant. Awan was seeking $100,000 in damages.
This story dates back to 2008 and a British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal hearing where some students were protesting an article in Maclean’s magazine. The group, including Awan, claimed that the article was Islamophobic, and gave testimony to that effect. It seems that Levant went to his personal blog and wrote a series of articles on the subject with titles such as Awan the Liar, Awan the Liar Part Two and so forth. This upset Awan quite a bit and he went to court. The results speak for themselves.
When you get to subjects such as social evolution, religion and prognostication about the future (which was the subject of the original article) it’s fairly obvious that you are talking about matters of opinion. Even here in the United States, you can’t go around writing, for example, that Bob is a drug dealer unless you can come up with some proof to support the allegation. That veers off from the arena of opinion and into the land of slander and libel. But Ezra Levant was disagreeing with Awan – albeit somewhat strenuously – on more subjective matters. For this exchange of ideas a Canadian judge has fined him $80K.
Canada. A beautiful place, but still not the land of the free.
I love Ezra Levant. He is very effective in all the videos I have seen of him. Too bad he is dealing with this kind of garbage.
Can we refer to him as “Awan the Greedy Parasite”? That might be appropriate after this frivolous lawsuit, but what if someone in Canada reads the description?
Our first amendment is getting closer to being in name only.
Think IRS and Obama’s enemies list.
I was going to point that out myself. Thanks for the quick catch.
I wonder when the citizens in the US will actually start pushing back on the numerous and continuous violations of the Bill of Rights.
Ezra is the best. He is a brave, brave man.
Canada don’t have rights granted by God..
They have privileges granted by givernment..
Actually they don’t have any “RIGHTS” at all.. they have privileges...
It’s SO BAD.. they don’t even know the difference between rights and privileges..
Pretty much like ALL american democrats AND not a few republicans..
A very sad tale of brain wash...
Canada is the land of the free Muslim.
Very true. The fact the guy was a Muslim AND a lawyer made if bad for Ezra. Judges do not like lawyers losing esteem. Our defamation laws are too easy to use to silence debate. Essentially calling someone an “idiot” could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Had Ezra called a Christian a liar, I also doubt he would have lost this suit. In Canada you must be aware of the pecking order. Muslims on the top, Jews somewhere in the middle, and white protestant males way way on the bottom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.