The Fearsome Lie on Human Rights in
Canada
By: Stephanie Lebreton
Ezra Levant, journalist, lawyer and
activist, is the author of Shakedown: How
our own government is undermining democracy in the name of human rights; an
eye-opening novel about Ezra’s own ordeal concerning human rights, along with
Canada at large. Freedom of speech, opinion and conscious is something Canada
is known for; but what happens when those rights are taken from us by the very
people who are meant to protect them? Levant uses this novel to enlighten and
educate his fellow Canadians about our rights, how they are being corrupted and
abused, and what we as a people can do to stop it. I am in complete agreement
with Levant’s points on how the government has demoralized our freedom of
speech, freedom of religion and thought, and how the term human rights is being taken advantage of. Levant has produced an
edifying literary piece that will open the eyes of every reader who comes
across it with the truth about our government and how our human rights have
become tainted and taken advantage of. It is rich with true examples and
constructive ideologies that have the power to unite our country to get back
our freedoms and rights.
Ezra Levant begins his novel
with the day he was taken in for interrogation by the government. After
publishing a cartoon about the prophet Mohammed in the Western Standard magazine, Levant is confused and sceptical when he
is interrogated about this cartoon by the government and wonders when it become appropriate or necessary for the
government to step into journalistic freedoms and freedom of opinion? (Levant
p. 1-4) This ordeal encouraged Levant to further his research concerning
basic human rights and further open his eyes to what goes on behind closed
doors where Human Rights are concerned. He learns how the term “human rights”
have changed into something unrecognizable, how easy it is for the average
citizen to take advantage of these rights, and how the government itself is so
easily able to take those rights away from us.
Chapter one reads brilliantly: “Human rights commissions were a
beautiful idea—that failed.” (Levant p.7)
In section 2 of our Charter of rights
and freedoms called fundamental
freedoms reads very clearly: “2.
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
A) Freedom of conscience and religion
B) Freedom of thought, belief, opinion
and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication
C) Freedom of peaceful assembly; and
D) Freedom of association” (Canadian
heritage, 3)
But Levant demonstrates very clearly how these specific basic
human rights are being taken from by the people who gave them to us and refers
to the fact by stating “they are no longer shields, but swords” (Levant p.43) He uses an example of a
case that the HRC (human rights commissions) had taken on, involving an
argument over the internet. Names are not even mentioned in court, only e-mail
addresses. Apparently a controversial online disputed began on the website AOL,
and one of the members of the dispute thought it prudent to take the matter to
the hands of HRC, who of course accepted. (Levant,
p.80-82) In the end, the case went nowhere since the online culprits,
including the accuser, failed to make the court meeting. But the very fact that
HRC took the case and investigated the matter over an online dispute and
charged the defendant with section 13 “hate speech violation”; in place where
people state feelings and express their personal opinions, which very often can
turn into an altercation. It happens all the time; it is human nature to disagree
at times: as Levant states in his novel: “Hatred and contempt—the law’s
targets—are feelings. They are
negative feelings, to be sure, feelings that we’d probably all like to have
less often…To criminalize such feelings doesn’t just fly in the face of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It’s against human nature” (Levant, p.77) Do disagreements stemming
from negative feelings make it a matter for the government? Certainly not; Nor does it give them the right to take
a case and step into an online argument, their goal being to take away
someone’s freedom to state their opinion and thoughts just because someone else
did not agree with those specific ideas. This goes completely against our
charter of rights and what it stands for. It seems to be a habit of HRC to take
every caddy complaint they receive, and transform it into something that
corrupts our human rights. The examples only further…
Throughout his novel, Levant makes
plenty of references to George Orwell’s 1984.
My favorite is when he is speaking out on personal beliefs and thoughts, and
how the HRC is now criminalizing thoughts, to which he finds the link to
Orwell’s idea of “thoughtcrime”. In 1984, you can be punished for not only
actions against Big Brother (the ruling government of the novel) but also for
any thoughts against them. It is a world where freedom of speech, thought and
belief is completely none existent, in fact there is even such a profession
called the thought police: “There was
of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.
How often, or on what system, The Thought Police plugged in on any individual
wire was guesswork.” (Orwell, p.5)This
of course is an exaggerated system compared to Canada’s current one, but Levant
finds similarities within our government and the one in 1984. For example, he tells the tale of a catholic priest. In his
church, he preached on homosexuality and how it was not of God. Of course, in
this day and age, that sort of thinking no longer dominates, and most would say
that he is wrong, and in fact that there is no God. But who are we, or anyone,
to tell someone what they truly believe is wrong and they did not have the
right to believe it? This would go completely against our charter of rights,
section 2 A and B : freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought,
belief, opinion and expression… But the HRC violated these rights when they
allowed a complaint to be made against the way he was preaching in his church,
brought him to court and demanded that he no longer preached about
homosexuality because it was deemed disparaging. This of course is absurd, and
Levant puts it perfectly when he writes: “If you’re like me, you have nothing
against gays. But we’re talking here about a Christian pastor, a man whose
whole life is oriented toward spreading the message of God as he understands
it. Including his interpretation of the Bible’s teachings on
homosexuality…Boissoin was not even permitted to communicate his opinions in
sermons delivered in his church. If the state has no role in the bedrooms of
our nation, why is it allowed in our churches and Bible classes?” (Levant, p. 86) We are human, we have
thoughts and beliefs that are sometimes not popular or deemed politically
correct, but does that mean we are not
allowed to think a certain way or believe in what we believe in? It seems
the idea of Orwell’s thoughtcrime is
more common in Canada than one might assume. Levant has opened a door and many
people’s eyes with these examples and only continues doing so throughout the
novel.
One of the main reasons our human
rights commissions have become so tainted is because the term human rights
doesn’t mean the same thing it did ten years ago. Canada is a country of
tolerance, a country where freedom of marriage, regardless of sex, exists;
where discrimination and racism is very rare, and so for the HRC to keep
themselves busy, they’ve been taking on cases that do not interfere with human
rights; for instance, the story about the online disagreement. In chapter 3,
Ezra Levant also tells the story of a woman who won her human rights case as an
employee of McDonalds to have the right not
to wash her hands. (Levant, p.52-56).
In the restaurant industry, along with many others, it is vital to wash your
hands in order to keep your customers healthy and free from things such as
E-coli. But HRC allow everyday for ridiculous claims to be made, therefore
changing the term human rights, allowing citizens to take advantage of the HRC
and our tax dollars to receive generous compensation over a caddy and
insignificant complaint. Well, Levant has a solution for this, and it begins
with you, me and Canada at whole. We are to use language to our advantage. For
example, refraining from referring to the Human rights commissions as such, but
rather as something like commissions, since human rights is no longer their
mission. Also to refer to the defendant of these ridiculous cases as victims;
because that is what they are: victims of abuse of the system, and victims of
abuse of the term human rights. Of course further actions would need to be
taken by politicians and such to make a true difference, but we can all do our
part to aid this mission.
Ezra Levant’s Shakedown was such an enlightening and educational experience for
me, and I am very glad to have had the chance to read it. Not only was it
filled with interesting facts and issues, but these issues are relevant to me.
They are relevant to every Canadian citizen, for human rights is equivalent to
our freedom. Without our fundamental rights, our freedom of speech, religion
and belief, self expression and opinion, can potentially be taken from us at
any given point in time. This is a frightening concept, and more should be
aware of this obstruction of human rights so that something can be done about
it. From page one, Levant captured my attention and kept me there until the
very last page. He has managed to change my view on politics and human rights
specifically, something I’d always thought to be impossible. He filled his
pages with veritable ordeals and facts that affect every single citizen and has
the power to enlighten anyone who reads it. It is truly powerful and perceptive
and I would recommend it to anyone for a good, eye-opening read. I will end
this with a quote from Rex Murphy’s review of Shakedown in the globe: “...Ezra Levant's Shakedown,
and his three-year advocacy, have been the "blast of the trumpet"
against this trespass. And we should be grateful for his effort. Support him,
too. Buy the book.”
Works
Cited
Levant, Ezra. Shakedown. Toronto Ontario Emblem, 2009. Pages 1-4, 7, 43, 52-55,77,
80-82, 86
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: USA penguin group, 1954. Page 7
