Free speech for all, except for those with whom we disagree, lawyer says
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
The B.C. Catholic
Caption: Photo submitted
A pro-life organization is meeting the City of Grande Prairie in court over what it is calling censorship of freedom of speech.
The Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform is crying foul after the city refused to allow it to post a bus advertisement with images of living 7-week-old and 16-week old fetuses and the words “growing, growing, gone. Abortion kills children.”
They had their first day in an Alberta courtroom June 21.
“In Canadian society there seems to be a concept right now: free speech for all, except for those with whom we disagree,” Carol Crosson, legal counsel for CCBR, told The B.C. Catholic. “If speech bothers someone, or if individuals find it offensive, it must not be protected speech.”
The pro-life view in the abortion debate tends to be seen as controversial and, consequently, is silenced these days, she said.
“When they try to share their message on signs or ads, often they will receive refusal because their message is deemed to be somehow offensive. The extrapolation is that it must not be allowed under law, when exactly the opposite is the case.”
Crosson said it is precisely because a view is unpopular that those expressing it deserve protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
She also pointed out that municipalities don’t have the power that the City of Grande Prairie is trying to exercise.
“Municipalities can censor the form of expression,” such as how large signs are, how many times they are allowed to appear, if they require a permit, etc.
“A municipality can’t decide what it likes and dislikes. It’s never been given the power to censor speech.”
That power is in the hands of the federal government, which it uses to shut down things like advocating genocide or publishing hate propaganda, she said.
The city maintains that it did the right thing by rejecting the ad. In a legal brief dated June 21, the City of Grande Prairie said the decision not to permit the “disturbing” advertisement was made “with careful consideration of Charter values, balanced against the need to protect the public from ads of this nature.”
It classifies the advertisement as hate propaganda.
“Through the use of strong words and images, such as the phrase ‘abortion kills children,’ the ad effectively equates women who have had abortions with murderers, inciting anger and revulsion against these women.'”
The CCBR had a similar run-in with the City of Peterborough over the same bus ad in February.
After meeting in court, that city agreed that while it does not endorse or advocate the views of outside advertisers, it has no authority to stop them, and agreed to run the ad.
