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April 20, 2001
Israel Anniversary
Libs may repeal hate law
A Campbell regime would review B.C.'s rights code.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
The Liberal most likely to be the province's next attorney general
says his party is considering removing from the Human Rights Code
segments that deal with hate propaganda.
Geoff Plant, MLA for Richmond-Steveston, said the caucus has not
made a final decision on the issue, but has considered taking out
aspects of the code that are popular among some ethnic communities.
"At this point, what I can say is we're looking at that provision
of the code," he told the Bulletin.
The legislation was the tool used to bring former North Shore News
columnist Doug Collins before a tribunal, which decreed that he
had written anti-Semitic materials.
Section 7 of the Human Rights Code prohibits "the publication,
issue or display of discriminatory material ... that is likely to
expose [a person or a group or class of persons] to hatred or contempt
because of [their] race, color, ancestry, place of origin, religion,
marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex,
sexual orientation or age...."
The provisions have been criticized by civil libertarians and others
for going too far and for leaving important decisions on the issue
to a quasi-judicial government appointee. It has also been criticized
as redundant because the federal Criminal Code already has provisions
to deal with hate propaganda.
Plant said the Liberal party, should it come to power as is widely
expected, would review the legislation to see if it strikes the
right balance between monitoring public hatred and protecting free
speech.
Among the concerns Plant expressed was that the legislation could
be interpreted to include comments made in private.
But the statement has raised the concern of Canadian Jewish Congress.
Along with the Chinese-Canadian agency SUCCESS, CJC held a meeting
with numerous Liberal MLAs and candidates earlier this month. Neither
Plant nor Gordon Campbell raised the issue then.
"It's not in line with the discussions that we had at the
meeting," said Herb Silber, honorary legal counsel for CJC,
Pacific Region. He said the Liberals expressed concerns about the
process by which the code is enforced, but said the MLAs and candidates
in attendance at the April 2 breakfast meeting fundamentally agreed
with the Human Rights Code itself. CJC was a strong supporter of
the provision to include remedies for hate literature when the Human
Rights Act was amended in 1997 and renamed the Human Rights Code.
"The thrust of that section we obviously welcomed when it
was brought in by the government," said Silber. "If it's
a matter of rescinding it, we would want to have some input on that."
Tony DuMoulin, a Vancouver lawyer and an officer of CJC, shared
Silber's concerns about Plant's comments to the Bulletin. He said
the human rights legislation is important because it offers easier
and quicker access than the criminal courts system to people who
believe they have been discriminated against.
CJC and SUCCESSS also met with New Democratic candidates and MLAs,
including Graeme Bowbrick, the attorney general and minister responsible
for human rights.
Bowbrick assailed Plant, saying his comments show he is out-of-touch
with ordinary people. He told the Bulletin that his Liberal opponents
hope to sail into office by speaking in generalities such as saying
they would reconsider the code, without specifying what exactly
they would do.
"They're also so supremely confident of their victory, I just
hope they will get into specifics," said Bowbrick. He dismissed
complaints that the code infringes on free speech, saying that is
protected under the Constitution.
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