The Freedom-Site: What Canadians think of the Canadian Human Rights Commission censorship of the Internet

From the very beginning Canadians were scared of the thought control enforcers having any ability to censor the Internet and true to their totalitarian nature, the CHRC just ignored the will of Canadians to pushed their own ideological hate agenda

Canadians never asked for and never wanted censorship of the Internet by the notorious thought police at the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

From the early stages of the internet, Canadians clearly wanted freedom and were very vocal in demanding it. While the Canadian Human Rights Commission pompously pretends to represent “Canadian Values”, they actually care little about what Canadians think, unless it fits their narrow single minded world view.

Back in 1994, Senior Policy analyst on Section 13 (Internet censorship law) for the Canadian Human Rights Commission – Harvey Goldberg sent out an E-Mail to Canadians, asking what Canadians thought of the CHRC’s censorship of the internet.

“The use of the Internet by white-supremacists, Holocaust deniers, gay bashers and other elements of the extreme right is matter of concern to human rights agencies.

I work for the Canadian Human Rights Commission. I am currently doing research on the use of the Internet for the propagation of hate material. The purpose of the research is to determine what measures could be considered to control the use of the Net for this type of purpose.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has any views, information or comments on this subject or who know of anywhere on the Internet where this matter is discussed.”

As is the usual bias and leftist world view of Mr. Goldberg, he frames the question with “white-supremacists, Holocaust Deniers, gay bashers and other elements of the extreme right.”

In response, Harvey Goldberg received an absolute flood of E-Mail by Canadians who were disgusted of the thought that the rights-enforcers at the Canadian Human Rights Commission would in any way have the power to censor the Internet. Little did those Canadians ever believe that by 2007, close to $100,000 and over 46 named respondents would be targeted by the Commission, with every single person ever brought to a Tribunal would be found guilty.

Here are just some of the responses received by Senior Policy advisor of the CHRC Harvey Goldberg: (The complete 80 pages of responses the CHRC tried to hide can be found here)

Date: Sun Dec 25 22:28:20 1994

Hello Harvey . You know, you really have a lot of wackos

up there in Canada . I'm not even certain you're not a

troll.

Date: Mon Dec 26 14:27:26 1994

Some Internet users definitely abuse of the system and the anonymity it provides. The I'net has been in operation for a number of years now and has become the worldwide communication tool that it is without government(s) intervention(s). Please keep it that way. This time Canada

does not need to take the lead. The I'net users have methods and practices to deal with hate material leave that community deal with its users and keep "Big Brother" out of it.

Date: 26 Dec 94 20:53:58 GMT

I have a strong opinion. the moment you attempt to stop anyone form using the internet be they communist, socialist, national socialist, gay basher, people with diverse sexual tastes, people with obscure religious backgrounds ... I will do everything in my power to oppose you, including

break the laws of the government of the united states .

Censorship is just plain wrong.

Date: Mon Dec 26 18:54:35 1994

The control of the Internet by governmental agencies is of concern to me as a matter of principle. As a matter of personal opinion, although I am a Jew, I would rather take my chances with the anti-Semites than with government control. Besides, I want to know what they are up to.

…

Indeed, no idea can be eradicated by law. It can only be eradicated by better ideas. That was the philosophy behind the First Amendment to the US Constitution, and I subscribe to it.

Date: Mon Dec 26 23:20:35 1994

This was only a matter of time, eh? It's been a long time since we had to use this phrase, but this is a good time-

Don't tread on us.

Keep your suppression of speech ideas to yourself, please and thank you.

Date: Tue Dec 27 02:41:21 1994

Well, what can I say? I have met many racists on the internet. Black and White. It NOT just a White thing. Although you little intro seems to imply that-it is. Well, for one, you can try and try but it won't go away. Hate is immortal.

Date: Tue Dec 27 05:16:52 1994

Any action that the CHRC might undertake to

stop the deniers from publicizing their views on the Internet will also stop the very people who are exposing their lies. I don't imagine that this is an effect desired by the CHRC. And I am afraid I still harbour the liberal view that lies are best countered with truths rather than with suppression. I take grave offense at some of the things

that the deniers have to say, but I would find it even more offensive to have my delicate sensibilities protected at the cost of free speech.

Although it is a lesser consideration, policing the Internet is impractical to the point of impossibility. My news service at the University of Alberta picks up more than 4,000 news groups which receive tens of thousands postings a day for a potential audience of 32,000,000 readers. Anyone can start a new news group any time. You would not be

able to police the Internet unless you hired a lot of people to do nothing all day but read an awful lot of dull postings, and a lot more people to analyze whether newsgroups showed a pattern of postings which warranted action by the CHRC.

Any action that the CHRC might take beyond mere research and momitoring would do more harm than good to the cause of human rights, and I doubt whether any agressive action will be able to withstand constitutional

challenges under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Pate: Tue Dec 27 20:26:00 1994

From: Ken McVay – Founder of Holocaust site Nizkor

Are you serious? Who on earth led you to believe that it would be either (a) desirable or (b) possible- to "control" the internet?

Do you really believe that you speak for a majority of Canadians?

Do you have no respect for free speech?

Are you afraid of something?

Harvey , I've devoted a fair chunk of my life to fighting holocaust denial and racism on the net. My archives are chock full of the data you are seeking, but your post in alt.revisionism can only be described as harmful and counter-productive, If the CHRC tries to move in this area, I assure you the battle will not be solely between the "bad guys" and the commission. I, for one, will fight tooth and nail, with all the media resources at my disposal, any attempt by the Canadian government to censor the net.

Your message could not have core at a worse time, and you have set Canada 's image back several years - in one fell swoop.

Interestingly enough, the above E-Mails to Harvey Goldberg were given to CHRC lawyer Giacomo Vigna, but as typical for disclosure from the Commission … IT NEVER WAS GIVEN TO THE RESPONDENT, nor was any privilege claimed. The E-Mails come from an Access to Information request by lawyer Barbara Kulaszka back in 1996.

MR. GOLDBERG: Yes. In the documents that I produced to you, these e-mails -- yes, there were many responses.

MS. KULASZKA: You never produced these documents?

MR. GOLDBERG: I certainly did produce these documents. They were in my disclosure. Excuse me. Let me correct myself. I'm sorry, I apologize. I produced these documents for Mr. Vigna. I don't know if they were disclosed by the Commission.

MS. KULASZKA: Mr. Goldberg, I want you to take a look through tab 14 and I want you to think very carefully. Did you produce these documents for Mr. Vigna?

MR. GOLDBERG: I just said I produced these documents for Mr. Vigna. I do not know whether the Commission disclosed them, but I produced them.

THE CHAIRPERSON: So your assertion here is these documents -- well, witness says he gave them to Mr. Vigna. Your assertion is that Mr. Vigna never disclosed these documents.

MS. KULASZKA: Correct.

Warman v Lemire Transcripts, Volume 24, Page 5250

MS. KULASZKA: Would you agree that the general tenor of the replies you got were that people did not want the Commission to control the Internet. They were quite angry at you?

MS. KULASZKA: Going back to R-17,just where you are. We'll go to the third problem of "enforcing Section 13, resistance by many Internet users to limitations on freedom of expression." Is that still true today?

MR. GOLDBERG: I would say it's less so, but it -- certainly Internet service provider, like all Canadians, including the Commission, are cognizant of the need to balance freedom of speech or freedom of expression with freedom from hatred, so I would expect that it is certainly a concern of Internet service provider today.

MR. GOLDBERG: Oh, I would think that many -- yes, I would think that many Internet users have concerns about freedom of expression, yes.

Harvey Goldberg works for the Canadian Human Rights Commission and is from the Policy and Planning branch. Goldberg is the main force behind Internet censorship and Section 13.

Testimony of Harvey Goldberg - June 15, 2007

Warman v Lemire Transcripts, Volume 23

Page 4930

MR. CHRISTIE: Would you place yourself on the left of the political spectrum?

…

MR. CHRISTIE: I wasn't asking that. I asked him how would he place himself on the left wing of the political spectrum.

THE CHAIRPERSON: You're right on the line. Go ahead.

MR. CHRISTIE: Can you answer that.

MR. GOLDBERG: Yes, I would say place myself on the left of the spectrum.

Page 5141

MR. CHRISTIE: Do you identify yourself as a Jewish person?

MS. BLIGHT: Mr. Chairman, I object to this simply on the basis of relevance. Totally and completely irrelevant.

…

MR. CHRISTIE: There's nothing wrong with that. Do you identify yourself with the Jewish people, for instance?

MR. GOLDBERG: Yes.

(Three Interveners against Marc Lemire are Jewish organizations [Who claim to represent Canadian Jewry], including the Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre)