Commentary Saying anything you like—or refraining from saying whatever you want—is one of the most fundamental rights in a free nation. Without it, the First Amendment is worthless. This week, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the case of Lorie Smith, a Colorado designer who refuses to create websites…
The Future of the First Amendment Hinges on the 303 Creative SCOTUS Case
‘You Have to Be Very Careful What You Say’: Comedians Self-Censor to Avoid Backlash
Comedians in Canada are finding it increasingly harder to get gigs, with some saying they have encountered backlash, threats, and cancelled shows due to their approach to making people laugh. Lizzy Stanton is a Vancouver-based stand-up comic who claims her jokes have gotten her banned from most venues because many owners and managers don’t want…
Rushdie Stabbing Reminds Us That Iran Is Still the World’s Leading Terror State
Commentary Two weeks ago, a man stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed British author Salman Rushdie in the neck as he was being introduced. The topic under discussion was “the United States as asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression.” Chances are…
Peter Menzies: Real Intent of ‘Online Harms’ Legislation Is to Crack Down on Opinions Ottawa Considers Misinformation
June 15, 2022
admin
CanadaCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsfree expressiononline harmsOpinionPrime Minister Justin TrudeauViewpointsWorld
0 Comment
Commentary Expressions of opinions that aren’t supported by facts could soon be ordered removed from social media in Canada if the chief architects of the nation’s nascent Online Harms legislation have their way. The federal government’s first attempt at Online Harms legislation foundered last fall after it was soundly denounced by civil rights and other…
Supreme Court Split Decision in Quebec Comedian Case Concerns Free Speech Advocates
Canada’s top court upheld the freedom of a Quebec comedian to make fun of a public figure who suffers from a disability, but the narrow margin of the 5–4 decision has some advocates concerned that free speech rights are in jeopardy. In 2010, Quebec comedian Mike Ward began telling jokes about Jeremy Gabriel, a teen…
Quebec, Alberta Laws Banning Some COVID Protests Raise Concerns
New laws in Alberta and Quebec that bar COVID-19-related protests from outside many public institutions raise concerns about curtailment of free expression, with one civil liberties lawyer describing the clamp-down as “political in nature.” In Quebec, public security minister Geneviève Guilbault tabled Bill 105 on Sept. 23 to ban demonstrations “in connection with health measures…
Are Freedom Charters Worth the Paper They’re Printed On?
Commentary Some of us are old enough to recall a time when freedom of speech was regarded as essential to the maintenance of a functional democracy. In democratic nations like Canada and the United States, we once understood that in contests of cultural or political will, all citizens, especially candidates for political office and other…
Canadians Must Not Be Apathetic About Bill C-10 and Free Speech Rights
Commentary Never in human history have we had such access to information, nor such an ability to create information and share it with others. We can access the contents of entire libraries on our phones and view everything from works of art to theatrical productions from any location with a cellular signal. We also have…
Free Speech Advocates Criticize Coming Social Media Regulations
Ottawa is proceeding with new legislation to regulate social media, but free speech advocates say attempts by the state to police the internet would be another blow against individual rights and a healthy democracy. “They’re going to create a bureaucracy, a regulator, for hate speech on the internet,” Joseph Hickey, executive director of the Ontario Civil…
US News
RSS Error: A feed could not be found at `https://www.theepochtimes.com/c-us/feed`; the status code is `200` and content-type is `text/html; charset=utf-8`