Infamous white nationalist Paul Fromm wants to address city council on free speech

Andrew Dreschel: Infamous white nationalist Paul Fromm wants to address city council on free speech 

‘I think his track record speaks for itself and it’s not welcome at city hall’

OPINION 02:46 PM by Andrew Dreschel  Hamilton Spectator

 

Paul Fromm

Paul Fromm, an avowed white nationalist and infamous far-right activist, is asking to publicly address councillors over his concerns their proposed hate prevention policies are limiting free speech. – Hand out

After a summer sizzling with hate issues, a new hot potato has landed in city council’s lap.

Paul Fromm, an avowed white nationalist and infamous far-right activist, is asking to publicly address councillors over his concerns their proposed hate prevention policies are limiting free speech.

Councillors will debate Wednesday whether to accept or reject Fromm’s delegation request.

They also have to decide whether to grant delegation status to Lisa Thompson, a member of the Hamilton yellow-vest group, which protests in front of city hall every Saturday.

Fromm, a Hamilton resident, says he was “shocked” by some of the hate prevention initiatives council floated earlier this summer in the wake of the Pride brawl at Gage Park and ongoing yellow-vest demonstrations.

“I don’t think it’s up to city council to play referee on various points of view,” Fromm said in an interview.

“I was shocked I was hearing this in Hamilton, not Havana.”

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Fromm’s request lands after months of controversy, which saw: fisticuffs at the Gage Park Pride celebrations between white nationalist/homophobic protesters and Pride supporters/anarchists; criticisms of police response to the clash; the swarming of Mayor Fred Eisenberger’s home by LGBTQ+ activists/anarchists; and a city hall investigation ending with the departure of city IT worker Marc Lemire, who was linked to a former white nationalist group.

Against that background, the dilemma Fromm presents councillors is plain as a red flag.

By allowing him to address the general issues committee, they’ll almost certainly be lambasted for giving a platform to his ultraright agenda. But by rejecting his request, they run the risk of being criticized for suppressing free speech.

The mayor is well aware of how tricky the situation is. After all, he spent a good part of the summer trying to build bridges with the LGBTQ+ community after being accused of responding indifferently to its concerns.

Eisenberger told The Spectator that denying Fromm the five minutes of speaking time allotted to delegates could become a “bigger issue” than having the committee chair simply police his comments to ensure he’s doesn’t say “hateful things.”

But in the end, Eisenberger stated the obvious: the request is open to consideration by council.

Coun. Jason Farr is also cautious. Recognizing council is walking a “fine line,” he expects a “healthy debate.”

For his part, Coun. Sam Merulla bluntly states he won’t support Fromm’s bid because he’s a known white nationalist. He believes council should refuse to listen to him.

“If he wants to appeal it, he has every right to. But I think his track record speaks for itself, and it’s something not welcome at city hall.”

Fromm, 70, is the director of the Canadian Association for Free Expression, which bills itself as a political group committed to free speech, immigration reform and “political sanity.”

In 2018, he ran for mayor of Hamilton, racking up 706 votes. In 2007, the Ontario College of Teachers took away his teaching license for unprofessional conduct outside the classroom because he participated in white supremacist events and held beliefs contrary to tolerance and multiculturalism.

He previously supported Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel, who was deported back to Germany in 2005 after the courts judged him a security threat.

Fromm denies being a white supremacist but happily agrees he’s a white nationalist.

“As a white nationalist, I do not want to see the European founding/settler people of this country swamped, and that’s what’s happening with mass immigration over the last 40 years.”

Fromm says a lot of provocative things.

He says attempting to prevent hate speech is “like trying to prevent the wind.”

He says hate speech is a “term of abuse” that doesn’t apply until someone has been charged and convicted of it.

And he says if council won’t listen to his concerns, it’s a “sad comment on democracy” but indicative of a time when people are “terrified to open their mouths.”

Whatever council decides to do, the debate may be the torrid capper to this long, hot summer.

Andrew Dreschel’s commentary usually appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com @AndrewDreschel

905-526-3495

Andrew Dreschel’s commentary usually appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com @AndrewDreschel

905-526-3495

Recent articles by Andrew Dreschel

LETTER TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR RE: LESBIAN LGBTQ ADVISER TO MAYOR

Canadian Association for Free Expression

Box 332,

Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L3

Ph: 905-289-674-4455; FAX: 289-674-4820;

Website http://cafe.nfshost.com

Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director

 

July 6, 2019

The Hamilton Spectator,

44 Frid St.,

Hamilton, ON,

L8N 3G3

Letter-to-the-Editor: For Publication — Sent via e-mail letters@thespec.com

Dear Sir:

Reading Deirdre Pike’s Comment “To respond to hate, you need you be at the table” (Hamilton Spectator, July 6, 2019), I fear for freedom of speech in this city. Apparently, Pike who identifies herself as a lesbian is “to be a special adviser to Mayor Fred Eisenberger on 2SLGBTQ+ issues.”  It may take their first meeting just to clarify what that alphabet soup of letters means.

She writes that she wants “to chart the course on confronting fascism and ending homophobia, transphobia [and[ racism.” Firstly, it’s not the role of elected officials to confront people. They should seek to represent and reconcile the conflicting views within a community.

Not everyone agrees with the LGBTQ agenda. They have a right to speak, protest and be heard without being smeared with weaponized words or denounced as haters.

Similarly, many Hamiltonians and a majority of Canadians, according to recent polls, disapprove of the fact that the present government has lost control of the border in terms of illegals coming up from the U.S. A recent CBC News poll found that 57 per cent of Canadians believe Canada should not accept more refugees. That does not make them “racists” or “fascists”.

I worry about the sort of advice Mayor Eisenberger will get from Deirdre Pike. Hamilton needs more speech, not less. Let’s welcome “diversity” of opinion.

Sincerely yours,

Paul Fromm

Hamilton

416-428-5308

LGBTQ Rowdies Bite Pro-Gay Eisenberger in the Butt

LGBTQ Rowdies Bite Pro-Gay Eisenberger in the Butt

 

It looks good on Eisenberger. Last summer he spent $25,000 of our money painting rainbow crosswalks to celebrate this tiny minority of the weird. Here’s their thanks. Had I been elected Mayor of Hamilton, NO MORE CATERING TO THE LGBTQ agenda.
https://torontosun.com/…/hamiltons-mayor-angered-by-rude-wa…. It wasn’t the peaceful Yellow Vest protests he’s trying to ban that invaded his neighbourhood.