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FlameBaked · 03-25-2009, 01:46 PM

I'm just going to jump into the middle of this here with a thought.

In 1990 (a year after I was born) a Mr. Keegstra, a teacher, made several raceist comments in the classroom. The Supreme Court of Canada was forced to weigh the importance of freedom of speach against the offence of wilfully promoting hatred.

It was a very high profile case and I'm sure the older members of CP might remember it... obviously I only know about it through my studies, and as such have no emotional opinion on the case itself.

Now as I'm sure maby of you know freedom of speech is highly emphasised in the Charter of Rights and Freedom, which is impotant as I believe a society free of cencorship is a benchmark of a truly free society (not the only benchmark just a big one). However despite this, many sections, including section 1, 2, 15 (which pertain the the topic) leave room for the restriction on the freedoms of individuals as they pertain to the rights and freedoms of others.

In the case I mentioned above, Mr. Keegstra was convicted, sections 318 and 319 of Canada's criminal code and section 13 of the Human Rights Act all make provision for promoting hate. It was found that Mr. Keegstra's freedom of speech did not give him the freedom to promote hate towards others. The court also made sure to emphasize, that the freedom of expression may not superscede other offences, including obscenity and many others. This decision put a very real and in my opionion very fair limit on ones freedom of expression.

How does this relate to the UofC Pro-Life group. I think most students believe in the free exchange and debate of ideas... however it is when a particular group of people refuse to exchange idea within the rules that problems such as the one at the UofC arise. It is apparant the this group refuses to "play nice" and the graphic images they choose to exhibit are no differant then the hate mongoring Mr. Keegstra.

It is my opinion that should these studants refuse to incite meaningful debate withing the Charter of Rights they should be banned from the UofC. I do not go to school to see these images, and while I don't care on a personal level, I can see how such images are disturbing and could easily upset someone who is not as detached as myself.

It is a sad day for the world when these people think their blatently offencive message is doing anything to grow the conciousness of the academic world... realy all the pro-lifers have ever done is depress me.

That being said, if the group does agree to play by the rules they deserve the funding of any student group... and the UofVic is wrong to limit the pro-life side of this debate... I hope the UofC can show these students what they have done is unacceptable without being forced to withdraw their support for a veried and important school enviroment.

*don't make fun of my spelling, I'm a physics student

*

03-25-2009, 01:46 PM	#301
FlameBaked Crash and Bang Winger Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Southern Alberta Exp:	I'm just going to jump into the middle of this here with a thought. In 1990 (a year after I was born) a Mr. Keegstra, a teacher, made several raceist comments in the classroom. The Supreme Court of Canada was forced to weigh the importance of freedom of speach against the offence of wilfully promoting hatred. It was a very high profile case and I'm sure the older members of CP might remember it... obviously I only know about it through my studies, and as such have no emotional opinion on the case itself. Now as I'm sure maby of you know freedom of speech is highly emphasised in the Charter of Rights and Freedom, which is impotant as I believe a society free of cencorship is a benchmark of a truly free society (not the only benchmark just a big one). However despite this, many sections, including section 1, 2, 15 (which pertain the the topic) leave room for the restriction on the freedoms of individuals as they pertain to the rights and freedoms of others. In the case I mentioned above, Mr. Keegstra was convicted, sections 318 and 319 of Canada's criminal code and section 13 of the Human Rights Act all make provision for promoting hate. It was found that Mr. Keegstra's freedom of speech did not give him the freedom to promote hate towards others. The court also made sure to emphasize, that the freedom of expression may not superscede other offences, including obscenity and many others. This decision put a very real and in my opionion very fair limit on ones freedom of expression. How does this relate to the UofC Pro-Life group. I think most students believe in the free exchange and debate of ideas... however it is when a particular group of people refuse to exchange idea within the rules that problems such as the one at the UofC arise. It is apparant the this group refuses to "play nice" and the graphic images they choose to exhibit are no differant then the hate mongoring Mr. Keegstra. It is my opinion that should these studants refuse to incite meaningful debate withing the Charter of Rights they should be banned from the UofC. I do not go to school to see these images, and while I don't care on a personal level, I can see how such images are disturbing and could easily upset someone who is not as detached as myself. It is a sad day for the world when these people think their blatently offencive message is doing anything to grow the conciousness of the academic world... realy all the pro-lifers have ever done is depress me. That being said, if the group does agree to play by the rules they deserve the funding of any student group... and the UofVic is wrong to limit the pro-life side of this debate... I hope the UofC can show these students what they have done is unacceptable without being forced to withdraw their support for a veried and important school enviroment. don't make fun of my spelling, I'm a physics student Last edited by FlameBaked; 03-25-2009 at 01:50 PM.