FREE SPEECH IS BEING TRAMPLED

It's perplexing how truly heroic Canadians are often persecuted and
scoundrels celebrated.

Consider, for instance, how ironic it is that Order of Canada awards
have been issued to Holocaust defender David Ahenakew and crooks like
Conrad Black and Alan Eagleson (admittedly, before they got into
trouble); meanwhile, real patriots like Ezra Levant and Marc Emery
have yet to be recognized.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the United States Drug
Enforcement Agency, with the help of Canada's federal government, is
about to imprison Vancouver's Emery.

Similarly, the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appears about
to tar and feather Calgary lawyer and journalist Levant.

It's a crazy world, isn't it?

And what have Levant and Emery done to get into anyone's bad books?

Mostly they've rocked the boat and spoken out against injustice,
especially threats to freedom of speech.

Levant, the former publisher of the defunct Western Standard
magazine, is in the doghouse for publishing cartoons - yes, cartoons
- - that a few misguided people want to keep the world from seeing.

While the Danish cartoons criticizing Islam may not be in the best
taste, they certainly shouldn't be banned anymore than should artwork
mocking other creeds or public figures.

Canada is a democracy - get used to it!

Fortunately, Levant is earning rave reviews from journalists and
other freedom-of-speech advocates for his recent appearance before
the AHRC, when he revealed the commission to be a kangaroo court.
(You can watch video of his encounter with investigator Shirlene
McGovern by visiting EzraLevant.com)

His witty written submission to the AHRC, which can also be found on
the Internet, was recently published by The Calgary Herald.

In it, Levant makes it clear that he expects to be found guilty of
discrimination and welcomes such a silly ruling as it will focus
attention on the AHRC's shortcomings.

Commenting on Levant's case, writer David Warren wisely observes in
The Ottawa Citizen that complainants often take their beefs to human
rights commissions "because they are not good enough to stand up in a
legitimate court of law."

Levant ought to be congratulated for defending freedom of speech.

As for Emery, he has a long history of fighting unjust laws.

Years ago, he opened an Ontario book store he owned on a Sunday
(which was illegal at the time).

Later, at that same store, he sold banned books and music to protest
censorship.

More recently, he's sold marijuana seeds to adults - effectively
thumbing his nose at our anachronistic pot laws (although he's paid
taxes on his earnings).

Canada's so-called Prince of Pot reached a plea bargain with U.S.
officials on Monday over his Internet sales of marijuana seeds simply
because it's the only way he can keep them from jailing two of his employees.

The deal means he will have to spend at least half of his 10-year
sentence behind bars.

He should not be incarcerated for a single minute.

Canada and the U.S. need to recognize the real movers and shakers in
society are the people who dare to take a stand, even if that stand
is unpopular.

Remember, when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out in favour of civil
rights, his views were relatively unpopular - particularly with
government and law enforcement.

At the time, he was widely viewed as a troublemaker - not unlike
Levant or Emery today.

Yet, as the decades passed, the public and even Supreme Court judges
have come to realize the wisdom of his words.

That will eventually happen with Levant and Emery, too, although it
would be silly to suggest their influence will be as great.

In any case, it's time for Ottawa and the provincial governments to
scrap human rights commissions, or failing that, at least reform them
so they can regain a bit of credibility.

At present, they simply discourage reasonable public debate and
reward complainers - with taxpayers generally picking up the
complainers' costs.

As for Emery's recent legal difficulties, when will politicians
realize the war on weed was lost long ago?

Pierre Trudeau once said that the state has no place in the bedrooms
of the nation.

It's time for Washington, Ottawa and Edmonton to realize government
has no business invading the personal lives of citizens and no right
to stomp on freedom of speech.