A letter from Svend Robinson
Apr. 13th, 2003 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonald>Subject: Please read and respond - A letter from Svend Robinson
>
>Dear Friends,
>
>I am writing you to issue an urgent CALL TO ACTION, to request that you add
>your voice in support of my Private Member's Bill C-250, An Act to amend the
>Criminal Code, that seeks to add "sexual orientation" to the list of
>included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada. Currently the
>grounds included are race, religion, colour and ethnic origin. The House of
>Commons Justice Committee is currently studying this bill, after it received
>agreement in principle in the House last May with the support of all parties
>except the Canadian Alliance. The Committee will decide whether people who
>are victims of propaganda promoting hatred, violence or even genocide
>directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people should have equal
>protection under the Criminal Code. The next month will decide whether or
>not this bill becomes law.
>WE ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING THIS BILL because of the flood of e-mails and
>letters coming in to MPs from those who oppose the bill, mainly from the
>religious right. As well, Canadian Alliance MPs (who have voted against
>every bill that has ever come before the House to extend equality to gays
>and lesbians) are fanning the flames with outrageous attacks on the bill.
>They claim that the bill would make religious texts like the Bible illegal.
>This is absolutely false: both the Charter of Rights and the Criminal Code
>already protect freedom of religious expression.
>
>The Supreme Court of Canada has set a very tough test for
>prosecution of this offence. They ruled in the Keegstra case that "...the
>act to be targeted is the intentional fostering of hatred against particular
>members of our society, as opposed to any individual...hatred implies that
>those individuals are to be despised, scorned, denied respect and made
>subject to ill-treatment on the basis of group affiliation." As well, there
>can be no prosecution under this section without the personal approval of
>the Attorney General. As a senior researcher of the Library of Parliament
>wrote: "the design of the hate propaganda provisions set out in the Code,
>including a requirement of specific intent, the definition by the courts of
>what the promotion of hatred means, the special defences, and the
>requirement for the provincial Attorney General to consent to a prosecution,
>all ensure that such prosecutions will occur in only the most egregious
>situations and have ensured that the law is Charter of Rights-compliant."
>Unfortunately, many MPs have been swayed by the campaign of misinformation
>and fear and have heard very little from those who support the bill. NOW IS
>YOUR TIME TO ACT.
>
>So far the Committee has only had one hearing on the bill, during which I
>appeared as the sponsor, along with officials of the Department of Justice.
>In early May, the Committee will hear remaining witnesses and vote on
>whether to support the bill and send it back to the House. Currently on the
>Justice Committee, all four Canadian Alliance members oppose the bill, all
>four of the other opposition members (Bloc Quebecois, Conservative, and NDP)
>support the bill, and the Liberal position is unclear. With a total of ten
>Liberal MP's on the Committee the fate of the bill depends on how they will
>vote. Here are the names and contact information for those MPs:
>
>Committee Chair:The Hon. Andy Scott (Liberal)Fredericton, 506-452-4110,
>Ottawa: 613-992-1067, Fax: 613-996-9955, email: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
>
>Vice-Chair:John McKay(Liberal)Scarborough East: Riding: 416-283-1226,
>Ottawa: 613-992-1447, Fax: 613-992-8968, Email: McKay.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Marlene Jennings(Liberal)Notre-Dame de Grace: Riding: 514-489-8703, Ottawa:
>613-995-2254, Fax: 613-996-1481, Email: Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca
>
>Irwin Cotler(Liberal)Mount Royal: Riding: 514-736-0101, Ottawa:
>613-995-0121, Fax: 613-992-6762, Email: Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca
>
>The Hon. Hedy Fry(Liberal)Vancouver Centre: Riding: 604-666-0135, Ottawa:
>613-992-3213, Fax: 613-995-0056, Email: Fry.H@parl.gc.ca
>
>Joe Peschisolido(Liberal)Richmond: Riding: 604-666-7327, Ottawa:
>613-995-2021, Fax: 613-995-2174, Email: Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Derek Lee(Liberal)Scarborough-Rouge River: Riding: 416-298-4224, Ottawa:
>613-996-9681, Fax: 613-996-6643, Email: Lee.D@parl.gc.ca
>
>Paul Macklin(Liberal)Northumberland: Rding: 905-372-8757, Ottawa:
>613-992-8585, Fax: 613-995-7536, Email: Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca
>
>John Maloney(Liberal)Erie-Lincoln: Riding: 905-835-5454, Ottawa:
>613-995-0988, Fax: 613-995-5245, Email: Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Pat O'Brien (Liberal)London-Fanshawe: Riding: 519-685-4745, Ottawa:
>613-995-2901, Fax: 613-943-8717, Email: Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca
>
>Email List Summary:
>Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
>McKay.J@parl.gc.ca
>Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca
>Fry.H@parl.gc.ca
>Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca
>Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca
>Lee.D@parl.gc.ca
>Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca
>Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca
>Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca
>Robinson.S@parl.gc.ca
>
>I am writing to urgently request you to take a few moments to send a message
>to your own MP as well as to the Liberal MPs on the Justice Committee. Tell
>them that you believe that hate propaganda targeting gay and lesbian people
>must be stopped. Remind them of the many hate-motivated crimes directed at
>gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, including the tragic murder
>of Aaron Webster. Tell them that it is not fair or just to protect some
>minorities from hate propaganda, but to deny that same protection to gay and
>lesbian people.
>
>C-250 is intended to protect those targeted for their sexual orientation
>from hate propaganda. For example, an American named Fred Phelps runs a
>web-site called www.godhatesfags.com, which is full of virulently hateful
>material. The web-site contains, among other things, an image of a young
>man named Matthew Sheppard burning in hell, and announcing the number of
>days he is supposed to have been in hell since his brutal murder in 1998.
>Matthew Sheppard was beaten, tortured, and left to die on a fence in
>Wyoming, because he was gay.
>
>When Fred Phelps wanted to come to Canada to pursue his campaign of hatred
>against gay and lesbian people, the RCMP said that they would like nothing
>better than to have the tools to stop him from entering our country, but
>because of the provisions of the Criminal Code, they were unable to do so.
>Sergeant Pat Callaghan, head of the hate crimes unit of the Ottawa-Carleton
>Police Department, had this to say about Phelps' activities in Canada:
>
>"If this was done against a Catholic, a Jew or a black person, charges could
>be laid. If we had that legislation, we wouldn't have to put up with his
>nonsense on Monday. We could have told him, 'If you show up and start
>spreading this hate, we'll arrest you.'"
>
>Canadians recognize that the promotion of hatred and genocide have no place
>in our society, regardless of the issue at hand. Every provincial and
>territorial Attorney General in Canada acknowledged this when, unanimously,
>they called upon the federal government in 2001 to adopt legislation that
>would protect those distinguished by sexual orientation from these crimes.
>
>The Attorney General of Alberta, Dave Hancock, pointed out that protecting
>gays from hateful propaganda has nothing to do with endorsing homosexuality.
>He said,
>
>"I support the hate crime legislation which prohibits people from spewing
>hate against anybody for any reason. There are appropriate ways to discuss
>issues in our country ... and you don't need to put forward hateful
>literature. It doesn't matter what you believe about sexual orientation."
>
>Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Please do take a few
>minutes to respond to this urgent call to action. Your voice could help
>pass this bill, and save the lives of gay and lesbian people targeted by
>hate-mongers. PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and forward a
>copy to my office so we can keep you posted on the progress of the bill.
>Your voice could make the difference.
>
>Sincerely Yours,
>
>Svend J. Robinson, MP
>Burnaby-Douglas.
To: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca, McKay.J@parl.gc.ca, Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca, Fry.H@parl.gc.ca, Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca, Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca, Lee.D@parl.gc.ca, Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca, Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca, Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca, Robinson.S@parl.gc.ca
From: Randy McDoanld <mcdonald@isn.net>
Subject: Bill C-250
Honourable Members of Parliament:
I urge you to accept Private Member's Bill C-250.
Adding "sexual orientation" to the list of included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada, alongside the currently included grounds of race, religion, colour and ethnic origin is simply the honourable thing to do. At least one million non-heterosexuals--gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and others--live in Canada, including myself in their number; they deserve to share in the same basic guarantees that other Canadians, distinct from a stereotype of the Canadian majority in one way or another, already enjoy.
I would be very much surprised if the Bible, or other sacred religious texts, would be threatened by the addition of sexual orientation, contravening the freedom of conscience of all Canadians to believe what they will. Quite apart from the extreme implausibility that this bill will be used to attack religious belief, a critical review of most sacred religious texts reveal that they describe acts which contravene the dignity of the other groups already protected under existing hate propaganda legislation; the fate of the Amalekites comes to mind. Of course, Canadian practitioners of Christianity (and other religions) will not be targeted by an overly literal reading of a religious text.
What hate propaganda legislation will do, however, is act against groups which _do_ take overly literal readings of religious texts (and entirely secular texts, of course!) and use them to justify violence or permanent inferiorization against one of the groups protected. Alas, it's true that despite tremendous recent progress, people of non-heterosexual sexual orientation are too often persecuted by people who spread hate propaganda.
There is a need to include sexual orientation in the list of protected conditions; it would not be just to exclude it because of ill-considered fears.
Sincerely,
Randy McDonald
>
>Dear Friends,
>
>I am writing you to issue an urgent CALL TO ACTION, to request that you add
>your voice in support of my Private Member's Bill C-250, An Act to amend the
>Criminal Code, that seeks to add "sexual orientation" to the list of
>included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada. Currently the
>grounds included are race, religion, colour and ethnic origin. The House of
>Commons Justice Committee is currently studying this bill, after it received
>agreement in principle in the House last May with the support of all parties
>except the Canadian Alliance. The Committee will decide whether people who
>are victims of propaganda promoting hatred, violence or even genocide
>directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people should have equal
>protection under the Criminal Code. The next month will decide whether or
>not this bill becomes law.
>WE ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING THIS BILL because of the flood of e-mails and
>letters coming in to MPs from those who oppose the bill, mainly from the
>religious right. As well, Canadian Alliance MPs (who have voted against
>every bill that has ever come before the House to extend equality to gays
>and lesbians) are fanning the flames with outrageous attacks on the bill.
>They claim that the bill would make religious texts like the Bible illegal.
>This is absolutely false: both the Charter of Rights and the Criminal Code
>already protect freedom of religious expression.
>
>The Supreme Court of Canada has set a very tough test for
>prosecution of this offence. They ruled in the Keegstra case that "...the
>act to be targeted is the intentional fostering of hatred against particular
>members of our society, as opposed to any individual...hatred implies that
>those individuals are to be despised, scorned, denied respect and made
>subject to ill-treatment on the basis of group affiliation." As well, there
>can be no prosecution under this section without the personal approval of
>the Attorney General. As a senior researcher of the Library of Parliament
>wrote: "the design of the hate propaganda provisions set out in the Code,
>including a requirement of specific intent, the definition by the courts of
>what the promotion of hatred means, the special defences, and the
>requirement for the provincial Attorney General to consent to a prosecution,
>all ensure that such prosecutions will occur in only the most egregious
>situations and have ensured that the law is Charter of Rights-compliant."
>Unfortunately, many MPs have been swayed by the campaign of misinformation
>and fear and have heard very little from those who support the bill. NOW IS
>YOUR TIME TO ACT.
>
>So far the Committee has only had one hearing on the bill, during which I
>appeared as the sponsor, along with officials of the Department of Justice.
>In early May, the Committee will hear remaining witnesses and vote on
>whether to support the bill and send it back to the House. Currently on the
>Justice Committee, all four Canadian Alliance members oppose the bill, all
>four of the other opposition members (Bloc Quebecois, Conservative, and NDP)
>support the bill, and the Liberal position is unclear. With a total of ten
>Liberal MP's on the Committee the fate of the bill depends on how they will
>vote. Here are the names and contact information for those MPs:
>
>Committee Chair:The Hon. Andy Scott (Liberal)Fredericton, 506-452-4110,
>Ottawa: 613-992-1067, Fax: 613-996-9955, email: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
>
>Vice-Chair:John McKay(Liberal)Scarborough East: Riding: 416-283-1226,
>Ottawa: 613-992-1447, Fax: 613-992-8968, Email: McKay.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Marlene Jennings(Liberal)Notre-Dame de Grace: Riding: 514-489-8703, Ottawa:
>613-995-2254, Fax: 613-996-1481, Email: Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca
>
>Irwin Cotler(Liberal)Mount Royal: Riding: 514-736-0101, Ottawa:
>613-995-0121, Fax: 613-992-6762, Email: Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca
>
>The Hon. Hedy Fry(Liberal)Vancouver Centre: Riding: 604-666-0135, Ottawa:
>613-992-3213, Fax: 613-995-0056, Email: Fry.H@parl.gc.ca
>
>Joe Peschisolido(Liberal)Richmond: Riding: 604-666-7327, Ottawa:
>613-995-2021, Fax: 613-995-2174, Email: Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Derek Lee(Liberal)Scarborough-Rouge River: Riding: 416-298-4224, Ottawa:
>613-996-9681, Fax: 613-996-6643, Email: Lee.D@parl.gc.ca
>
>Paul Macklin(Liberal)Northumberland: Rding: 905-372-8757, Ottawa:
>613-992-8585, Fax: 613-995-7536, Email: Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca
>
>John Maloney(Liberal)Erie-Lincoln: Riding: 905-835-5454, Ottawa:
>613-995-0988, Fax: 613-995-5245, Email: Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca
>
>Pat O'Brien (Liberal)London-Fanshawe: Riding: 519-685-4745, Ottawa:
>613-995-2901, Fax: 613-943-8717, Email: Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca
>
>Email List Summary:
>Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
>McKay.J@parl.gc.ca
>Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca
>Fry.H@parl.gc.ca
>Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca
>Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca
>Lee.D@parl.gc.ca
>Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca
>Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca
>Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca
>Robinson.S@parl.gc.ca
>
>I am writing to urgently request you to take a few moments to send a message
>to your own MP as well as to the Liberal MPs on the Justice Committee. Tell
>them that you believe that hate propaganda targeting gay and lesbian people
>must be stopped. Remind them of the many hate-motivated crimes directed at
>gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, including the tragic murder
>of Aaron Webster. Tell them that it is not fair or just to protect some
>minorities from hate propaganda, but to deny that same protection to gay and
>lesbian people.
>
>C-250 is intended to protect those targeted for their sexual orientation
>from hate propaganda. For example, an American named Fred Phelps runs a
>web-site called www.godhatesfags.com, which is full of virulently hateful
>material. The web-site contains, among other things, an image of a young
>man named Matthew Sheppard burning in hell, and announcing the number of
>days he is supposed to have been in hell since his brutal murder in 1998.
>Matthew Sheppard was beaten, tortured, and left to die on a fence in
>Wyoming, because he was gay.
>
>When Fred Phelps wanted to come to Canada to pursue his campaign of hatred
>against gay and lesbian people, the RCMP said that they would like nothing
>better than to have the tools to stop him from entering our country, but
>because of the provisions of the Criminal Code, they were unable to do so.
>Sergeant Pat Callaghan, head of the hate crimes unit of the Ottawa-Carleton
>Police Department, had this to say about Phelps' activities in Canada:
>
>"If this was done against a Catholic, a Jew or a black person, charges could
>be laid. If we had that legislation, we wouldn't have to put up with his
>nonsense on Monday. We could have told him, 'If you show up and start
>spreading this hate, we'll arrest you.'"
>
>Canadians recognize that the promotion of hatred and genocide have no place
>in our society, regardless of the issue at hand. Every provincial and
>territorial Attorney General in Canada acknowledged this when, unanimously,
>they called upon the federal government in 2001 to adopt legislation that
>would protect those distinguished by sexual orientation from these crimes.
>
>The Attorney General of Alberta, Dave Hancock, pointed out that protecting
>gays from hateful propaganda has nothing to do with endorsing homosexuality.
>He said,
>
>"I support the hate crime legislation which prohibits people from spewing
>hate against anybody for any reason. There are appropriate ways to discuss
>issues in our country ... and you don't need to put forward hateful
>literature. It doesn't matter what you believe about sexual orientation."
>
>Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Please do take a few
>minutes to respond to this urgent call to action. Your voice could help
>pass this bill, and save the lives of gay and lesbian people targeted by
>hate-mongers. PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and forward a
>copy to my office so we can keep you posted on the progress of the bill.
>Your voice could make the difference.
>
>Sincerely Yours,
>
>Svend J. Robinson, MP
>Burnaby-Douglas.
To: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca, McKay.J@parl.gc.ca, Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca, Fry.H@parl.gc.ca, Peschisolido.J@parl.gc.ca, Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca, Lee.D@parl.gc.ca, Macklin.P@parl.gc.ca, Maloney.J@parl.gc.ca, Obrien.P@parl.gc.ca, Robinson.S@parl.gc.ca
From: Randy McDoanld <mcdonald@isn.net>
Subject: Bill C-250
Honourable Members of Parliament:
I urge you to accept Private Member's Bill C-250.
Adding "sexual orientation" to the list of included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada, alongside the currently included grounds of race, religion, colour and ethnic origin is simply the honourable thing to do. At least one million non-heterosexuals--gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and others--live in Canada, including myself in their number; they deserve to share in the same basic guarantees that other Canadians, distinct from a stereotype of the Canadian majority in one way or another, already enjoy.
I would be very much surprised if the Bible, or other sacred religious texts, would be threatened by the addition of sexual orientation, contravening the freedom of conscience of all Canadians to believe what they will. Quite apart from the extreme implausibility that this bill will be used to attack religious belief, a critical review of most sacred religious texts reveal that they describe acts which contravene the dignity of the other groups already protected under existing hate propaganda legislation; the fate of the Amalekites comes to mind. Of course, Canadian practitioners of Christianity (and other religions) will not be targeted by an overly literal reading of a religious text.
What hate propaganda legislation will do, however, is act against groups which _do_ take overly literal readings of religious texts (and entirely secular texts, of course!) and use them to justify violence or permanent inferiorization against one of the groups protected. Alas, it's true that despite tremendous recent progress, people of non-heterosexual sexual orientation are too often persecuted by people who spread hate propaganda.
There is a need to include sexual orientation in the list of protected conditions; it would not be just to exclude it because of ill-considered fears.
Sincerely,
Randy McDonald
