Is truth an absolute defense in Canada?
“Is truth an absolute defense in Canada?”
Given the record so far, they treat it as an aggravating factor.
who admits he was “half-drunk” on vodka.
Hah, “absolut Canada!”
Unfortunately, no.
That's part of the travesty of these "Human Rights Commissions" in Canada. In a real court, for something like Slander, there is still due process and the truth is an absolute defense. But the HRC are not courts. There is no due process, no presumption of innocence and not even any rules of evidence. They just make it up as they go along and do whatever they want to do at the time. But they do have the power to levy enforceable penalties (usually fines, I think).
It is exactly as much a Kangaroo court as it seems. Moreso than one could possibly devise.
Maclean's magazine and Mark Steyn were actually hoping to lose their case because they were going to full-court press in the appeals process and try to get the whole system tossed out, which probably would have been successful.
But the HRC backed off from Steyn. Probably because they sensed what would happen. So it lives on and somebody else is going to have to do it. Or Steyn just needs to write another column. :-)