Canada: A court that treats us like children

If you crumble “at a rude word from some random loser, you have problems no hate-speech judgment can begin to address,” said John Robson at the Ottawa Sun.

John Robson

Ottawa Sun

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Our top court, though, doesn’t think Canadians are capable of having such a debate. In the last major ruling on free speech, in 1990, the court said that because “individuals can be persuaded to believe almost anything,” the government can’t simply allow an “unregulated marketplace of ideas”—some must be suppressed. So what is the harm that is so grave that it justifies suppressing this idea? The complainants have alleged nothing more serious than hurt feelings. Please. If you crumble “at a rude word from some random loser, you have problems no hate-speech judgment can begin to address.”