On Coren’s Corner there appeared a letter written by the Vice-President of the University of Ottawa addressed to Ann Coulter who is going to appear on The Michael Coren Show in Canada:
“Dear Ms. Coulter,
I understand that you have been invited by University of Ottawa Campus Conservatives to speak at the University of Ottawa this coming Tuesday. We are, of course, always delighted to welcome speakers on our campus and hope that they will contribute positively to the meaningful exchange of ideas that is the hallmark of a great university campus. We have a great respect for freedom of expression in Canada, as well as on our campus, and view it as a fundamental freedom, as recognized by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or “free speechâ€) in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here. You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind. There is a strong tradition in Canada, including at this University, of restraint, respect and consideration in expressing even provocative and controversial opinions and urge you to respect that Canadian tradition while on our campus. Hopefully, you will understand and agree that what may, at first glance, seem like unnecessary restrictions to freedom of expression do, in fact, lead not only to a more civilized discussion, but to a more meaningful, reasoned and intelligent one as well.
I hope you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful country, city and campus.
Sincerely,
François Houle.â€
Vice-recteur aux études / Vice-President Academic and Provost
Université d’Ottawa / University of Ottawa
550, rue Cumberland Street
Ottawa (ON) K1N 6N5
téléphone / telephone : 613 562-5737
télécopieur / fax : 613 562-5103
www.uOttawa.ca/vr-etudes-academic
I didn’t know the Nazis defeated Canada in WW II
h/t Newsrealblog
I would never even consider setting foot outside the US. For that matter, there’s few places here I’ll be caught dead in anymore. I don’t recognize these so-called people as human beings, let alone equals. I have this strange idea they would never send Keith Olbermann or Bill Maher a letter like that. Screw em all. Notice how these are the same people who insist that when Israel responds to a provocation from the Palestinians, it should be a “proportional response”, yet they never have much to say about the Palestinian provocation to begin with, other than, “well, they do have a right to be angry.”
Now these same kind of people are on their way to taking over America’s health care system. If I get sick, I might just going to let myself die. These assholes are going to make life to where it’s not worth living anyway, why not? Of course, then they’ll get to harvest my organs. You just can’t win when you’re up against soulless hacks.
I’m going to go Galt and start staving the government of tax revenue. They want me to be poor so I’ll take my savings, put it in my safe and make them give me welfare.
Mark Steyn, who has quite a bit of experience with Canadian “free speech” regulations, wrote about this today. He asked, “Does M Houle write to all University of Ottawa speakers like this? Or does he reserve his telekinetic powers to detect “pre-crime” only for the ideologically suspect?”