Canada is increasingly becoming the testing ground for what will pass as "free speech" in the Western hemisphere, largely thanks to Ernst Zundel, of course. The notion that the Zundel message can be silenced by shrieks of "Nazi!" "Anti-Semitism!" etc. ad nauseam is now a thing of the past. People are paying attention - big time! And it is not the Eskimos of Canada who are behind the push for censorship! The censor's visage is no longer a blur, and people are watching and weighing.
In addition to the ongoing Zundelsite saga, of ever-increasing interest to German-descendant Canadians now that the real dimensions of this case are coming unraveled, we have two other cases of more than passing interest.
First, there is the Rocan Case. Here is the background for that one:
A leftist author, Warren Kinsella, did a monumental smear job on the Canadian Right in general and Ernst Zundel in particular in a book called "Web of Hate." This book was a popularized summary of a study in the wake of Ernst Zundel's 1985 Great Holocaust Trial that assessed the "damage" of the media's treatment of the exposure of the unsavory Holocaust story in this trial.
Much can be said about this book - it laid the foundation for the demonization of the Right in Canada. It was used, in part, as a justification for calling Ernst Zundel a "security risk" to Canada in the initiated and then federal court-aborted first leg of the SIRC hearings.
When Kinsella was asked to testify to what he had written, he put his tail between his legs, of course allegorically speaking, and refused to testify in person in public. This was the first indication that "Web of Hate" was not what it was cracked up and cranked out to be.
Just recently Roger Rocan, one of Kinsella's victims, sued both Warren Kinsella and the publisher of Web of Hate for what that publication claimed. The suit itself was hush-hushed, but the complainant pressed ahead - and, yes you guessed it, just prior to the trial going ahead, the publisher and Mr. Kinsella settled the case, paying Mr. Rocan a substantial amount of money, with an apology. (Source: Friends of Freedom Newsletter / Dec. 1998)
The moral of this story is that Mr. Kinsella and his publisher ought to consider themselves put on notice that there might be a Zundel suit still waiting in the wings.
The second story is of only marginal interest to Revisionists but still worthy of some notice. Here, too, I quote from "Friends of Freedom", December issue:
"In this case the issue arises of whether it is possible in Canada to ridicule a group of pedophiles and refer to them as "queer." The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said it is now allowed under section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Code. This section now has been interpreted to add sexual orientation to the prohibited grounds of discrimination.
"What is sexual orientation? The law did not include the words "sexual orientation but was written in by the judiciary to preclude discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
"But to constitute a reasonable limit on speech, the limit has to be "prescribed by law." The "sexual orientation" addition has never been prescribed by law to apply. It will be an interesting case when it is heard."
The real story, however, is what Ernst Zundel calls "Zundel against the Elite of Canada", a precendent-setting lawsuit which includes Canada's Prime Minister Chretien. To refresh your memory, here goes:
"Ernst Zundel has launched a lawsuit naming Prime Minister Chretien and the leaders of all parliamentary parties as defendants who deprived him of his constitutional right to free speech, claiming he suffered "humiliation, ridicule, hatred and contempt in the nationwide media, and further damage to his reputation" as a result of a unanimous all-party resolution on June 5 to ban him from parliamentary precincts. He claims ëthe defendants treated him as a national pariah who should not be allowed into the precincts of parliament...'
"There are 18 defendants in his suit, including the Canadian Jewish Congress and its president Moshe Ronen, the five parliamentary parties, each party leader and several other parliamentarians who took the lead in moving to bar him from the House.
"The events arose on June 3 when Zundel announced he would host a June 5 conference in the Centre Block's parliamentary press room to discuss the fact that truth was ruled irrelevant in his human rights tribunal.
"Ronen of the CJC heard of the conference and told Multiculturalism Minister Hedy Fry, who in turn discussed it with other MPs. All parties quickly agreed to a motion barring Zundel from parliament for the remainder of the session. The whole scandalous issue of the fact that truth has become ëirrelevant' to human rights tribunals has been buried."
(End of Friends of Freedom letter)
Buried but far from forgotten! In fact, probably the most important "fall- out" from that foolishly launched Human Rights Commission charge against the Zundelsite is going to be this historical precedent of challenging the highest powers in the land by asking a court to decide:
" Is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms a """meaningful""" document protecting individuals?
" Or is it window dressing for the gullible and little more than toilet paper for an outhouse - as many cynics in Canada claim?
This issue will be very quickly decided. On January 19th a judge will decide if this case will be heard. If it's "green light" for Zundel, it means the Zundel legal team can cross-examine the defendants - all famous 18 of them!
The political elite of Canada will be on trial for the first time in that country's existence for engaging in a conspiracy against an individual and for an abuse of their power!
Expect some maggots to see the light of day!
If, on the other hand, the signal will be "red", it means just that: """The country has turned red!""" It means that Canada is a dictatorship and can no longer claim to be a democratic country.
Ingrid
Thought for the Day:
" January 19, 1999 is going to go down in history as 'D-Day for Canada. . .'"
(Ernst Zundel, from the road...)