Peter O'Donnell, Author:
This is what I posted ... and this is what I believe Canadians should know about Free Dominion, rather than this "hotbed of racists" nonsense.
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Free Dominion is a website about Canadian politics with a focus on conservative issues. It was inspired by Free Republic in the United States, and a few members contribute to both sites.
Many differing viewpoints are represented on its forum, but social conservatism is the dominant political view. Users posting comments attacking the forum's owners and moderators are usually banned. A diversity of conservative opinion is sometimes found in debates, but the prevailing viewpoint is usually a blend of social conservatism and libertarian philosophy. There are often heated discussions between these factions but on the whole, there is a tendency for both groups to agree on the dangers of the growing tendency for political correctness to guide public policy in Canada and for that matter in other western democracies.
Free Dominion grew rapidly in 2004 and 2005 as Canadians became more aware of the abuses of power inherent in the long-ruling Liberal Party. With the union of the two large conservative parties a growing political force, Free Dominion attracted many who wanted to discuss the issues involved in removing the apparently corrupt Liberal government from power, replacing it with a principled conservative alternative, and addressing the perceived problems around the growing strength of what many call "the Agenda" or in general terms, the tendency for ultra-socialists to control public policy through a variety of non-governmental forces including the media, special tribunals, and the education system.
The forum held strong during the run-up to the January 2006 election, despite a number of disappointing setbacks for the Conservative opposition in parliament through much of 2005. Although considerable interest was created by such spectacles as the Belinda Stronach defection and the Grewal affair, what was really at stake was the maintained integrity of a free opposition in Canada, speaking out without the restraints and filters self-imposed by the mainstream media, which in Canadian terms represents an extension of the left wing of the Liberal Party or the leftist New Democrats. Together with such sources as the Western Standard, various prominent conservative bloggers and columnists, and ordinary citizens refusing to drink the Kool-Aid of the Canadian cultural establishment, Free Dominion helped to create the conditions necessary for the removal of the Liberal government.
Since that time, the focus on Free Dominion has been shifted to discussions of how truly conservative the new government is in practice (the consensus, it is fair to state, not very), as well as renewed discussion of the need to have a wider public review of the same sex marriage legislation, something that the new government has so far avoided in its attempt to place itself in the political centre. There continues to be a very vigorous discussion of security and terrorism issues as they affect Canada and western nations in general. And there has recently been an upsurge of discussion about abortion, focusing on what parts of present public policy need to be changed, and by what means. Also, the topic of global warming has attracted a lot of attention on the forum, with quite a wide range of views ranging from acceptance of the current official thinking, through various levels of skepticism to outright opposition to the concept and its implications.
Free Dominion has recently come under attack from leftist activists who have sometimed tried to disrupt the forum with trolling activities or flaming of individual posters. More recently, a complaint has been registered with a human rights tribunal alleging that a frequent FD poster upset one individual with comments about the linkages between Muslim theology and the gay rights issue. The nature of this upset has yet to be entirely revealed, but apparently somebody took offense to the concept that Muslim theology is more stridently opposed to homosexuality than any aspect of western society, which would tend to imply that leftist support for radical Islamist politics makes little if any sense on that level, as well as the level of one's own personal safety and security.
Pointing out the many contradictions and absurdities of conventional (i.e. leftist) wisdom in Canadian society would appear to be a full-time responsibility, and that has fallen to a very active team of site administrators and moderators. Connie Wilkins and Mark Fournier are the "power couple" who run the site and try to deal with the many issues that arise from disputes among members during a heated discussion, membership privileges under review when necessary, and defending the site against external opponents who are constantly trying to damage the ability of the forum to remain active and open for debate. They live near Kingston, Ontario and have marriage plans for the very near future. Forum members are also very familiar with the abundant work of "Styky," a Winnipeg-based member who contributes an invaluable number and quality of thread-starting articles.
Free Dominion has recently passed the standard of one million posts, and has over 7,000 registered members, many of whom are active on a daily basis. There is no other Canadian conservative forum with as wide a range of viewpoints and as active a level of debate, and with various attacks on the forum coming in on a regular basis, it seems inevitable that the forum will grow in visibility and in strength.
Some observers have tried to tag Free Dominion with an extremist label, but in reality, comments that are stridently racist or homophobic, or for that matter delving into holocaust denial or other such views, tend to be in a very small minority and are routinely edited out when legally necessary, or at least refuted by a large majority of the active membership. One should keep in mind that in a free country (which Canada still is, technically speaking), there is nothing to stop anyone from joining a political discussion forum and saying anything they want to say there. Conservatives who have tried to do just that on high-profile liberal or socialist forums such as Rabble, have found that even the most moderate of conservative viewpoints results in almost instant banning from forum membership there. Once again this raises the question, where is freedom of speech most respected and practised in Canada? Liberals and New Democrats can actively participate in Free Dominion and the only restriction on their presence is how tolerant they are of criticism, because they will find plenty of that, an experience they may not have had in the classroom or the workplace because of Canada's otherwise anemic standards of vigorous public discussion of political issues.
It is no exaggeration that Free Dominion has led the fight to keep that tradition of vigorous debate alive in Canada during an era when groupthink became the national standard, and the Liberal Party attempted to redefine citizenship as membership in its own political machine.
C. Wilkins interviewed by Michael Coren: Play Now | Play in Popup