Hate Propaganda

This is a decision by a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal on a complaint filed by the Canadian Jewish Congress against Doug Collins and North Shore News about an opinion column entitled "Swindler's List: Hollywood Propaganda" published March 9 1994 in the North Shore News. The essence of the complaint is that the article was likely to expose Jewish persons to hatred or contempt on the basis of their race, religion or ancestry contrary to s. 7(1)(b) of the 1996 Human Rights Code.

Doug Collins and North Shore News dispute the complaint on the merits. They also challenge the constitutional validity of the legislation, both on the ground that it violates the Charter and on the basis that it exceeds the legislative competence of the province.

Four organizations were granted intervener status: the B.C. Press Council, the B.C. Human Rights Coalition, the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, and the B.C. Civil Liberties...

In a unanimous ruling the Supreme Court of Canada upholds the decision of a Board of Inquiry which ruled that the Board of School Trustees, District No. 15 discriminated with respect to a public service because it failed to take appropriate action against a teacher, Malcolm Ross, who made repeated public attacks on Jewish people.

David Attis, a Jewish parent, complained in 1988 that Malcolm Ross, a teacher in School District No. 15, publicly made racist and discriminatory comments about Jewish people during his off-duty time, and that this created a "poisoned environment" in the school district, negatively affecting the Jewish children and other minority students. Mr. Ross’s writings and statements communicating his anti-Semitic views included books, letters and interviews with local media. The Board of Inquiry found that, despite mounting complaints about Mr. Ross’s activities between 1978 and 1987, the School Board reprimanded Mr. Ross ineffectively, and, by its almost...

This was an application for judicial review of a decision of a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal which found that Tony McAleer and Canadian Liberty Net ("CLN") violated s. 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act by transmitting telephonically messages which exposed persons to hatred and contempt because of their sexual orientation.

The applicants argued that: (1) s. 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act which prohibits transmission of telephonic messages which expose a group of persons to hatred or contempt represents an interference in the province's exclusive jurisdiction over property and civil rights; (2) s. 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act contravenes ss. 2(a) and (b) and s. 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantee freedom of speech and liberty; (3) the Tribunal's interpretation of "sexual orientation" was vague and overly broad and therefore infringes ss. 2(a) and (b) and s. 7 of the Charter; and (4)...