Read the complete article here.
December 6, 2009
Rev. Stephen Boissoin’s conviction overturned
By Ezra Levant
Late last week, the Court of Queen’s Bench overturned the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s “hate speech” conviction of Rev. Stephen Boissoin.
Long-time readers of this blog, and readers of my book, will know the case of Rev. Boissoin well. He was a youth pastor who wrote a letter to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate in 2002 that was critical of the “gay agenda”. You can read that letter in full here. He was sentenced to a lifetime speech ban, barring him from ever saying anything negative about gays again, in public or private, for the rest of his life. Oh – and he had to write a false letter of apology, renouncing his faith on the matter.
So here we are, more than seven years later, and Rev. Boissoin has finally been acquitted. And that’s if his tormentor, the anti-Christian bigot Darren Lund, doesn’t choose to appeal this new ruling.
So lesson number one here is that the process is the punishment.
Rev. Boissoin had seven years of his life wasted – seven years in which he bore the stigma of being called, by the state, an illegal “hater”. And Rev. Boissoin had to bear the enormous legal costs – first, of his kangaroo court trial, then of his appeal – on his own. (I’m glad to have participated in three fundraising dinners for him this summer.) By contrast, his antagonist didn’t have to spend a dime to drag Rev. Boissoin through the mud of the HRC. And note page 37 of the ruling: though Rev. Boissoin’s conviction was demolished by the judge, page after page; though Rev. Boissoin was clearly mistreated and abused by the HRC; though the judge’s contempt for the HRC’s outrageous behaviour is palpable, Rev. Boissoin was denied his request for all his costs to be paid.
In other words: Darren Lund actually won.
So we know that there are two ways to beat an HRC. The first is to embarrass the hell out of them, like I did. That’s the only reason they dropped their case against me.
The other way is to fight it all the way to a real court – seven years – spending money that you don’t have, to finally get justice.
I’ve read the ruling. I don’t propose to go through it line by line, though it’s wonderful (I recommend this great exegesis by young Rebekah). It’s great: it mocks the HRC’s procedure; mocks their utter lack of legal smarts; mocks their disregard for trifles like evidence; mocks their arrogant attempt to be real police and real courts; mockes their bizarre and illegal punishments.
(My favourite is how the judge is kind enough to say that the HRC’s ruling was written by a “panel”. That panel was actually one little bigot, a divorce lawyer named Lori Andreachuk, who was finally booted off the HRC by a humiliated Ed Stelmach – but given a soft landing with an appointment in a health board. What a disgrace she is.)
So the ruling by Justice Wilson is a slam dunk for Rev. Boissoin.
Except: so what?
Public date: December 15th, 2009Categories: News
Tags: alberta, Christian persecution, Ezra Levant, Free Speech, homosexuality, Human Rights Commissions, Religious Liberty, Stephen Boissoin
