Sunday, June 14, 2009

Canadian Human Rights Commission acts like thought police

This evening, Jennifer Lynch, the chief commissar of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, tried to have CTV Newsnet kick me off their interview program Power Play, hosted by Tom Clark.
 
To their great credit, CTV refused to be bullied -- and it was Lynch who wound up off the show.
 
 
What an embarrassment Lynch and her CHRC have become to this government -- and to all Canadians.
 
Here's the story -- it's pretty simple. Lynch and I were both invited on Clark's show to talk about the CHRC's memo issued to Parliament this week. The CHRC is demanding that they be allowed to continue their censorship, and in fact arguing that Canada's police should be more active in laying censorship charges, too. I wrote about the substance of it yesterday.
 
Lynch's spin is that she wants to "start a debate" about censorship -- how Orwellian is that? Well, CTV was happy to provide a forum for such a debate. But CTV made the honest mistake of thinking Lynch actually meant it. They didn't realize that the CHRC's idea of a debate is Lynch lecturing, and Canadians listening obediently.
 
When Lynch heard it would be me against whom she would have to debate, she tried to veto my appearance.
 
Full post here
 
 

Couldn't help reading this and thinking about our own human rights commissioners here in Australia:
 
Lynch has been a problem for the Conservative government for years. She has racked up close to $100,000 in five-star junkets to exotic conferences, while her commission was racked with scandal. Any cabinet minister who had her penchant for luxuries on the public dime would be called into the Whip's office. Any MP who ambushed the PMO with her self-serving media stunts, like the Moon report (which poetically backfired on her) or this latest PR campaign, would be kicked out of caucus. Really, who is Lynch besides a slightly less tech-savvy Garth Turner, without the redeeming democratic streak?
 

Posted via email from Garth's posterous

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