APPEAL FACTUM OF POLITICAL PRISONER TERRY TREMAINE — SENTENCED TO 6 MONTHS FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT

APPEAL FACTUM OF POLITICAL PRISONER TERRY TREMAINE — SENTENCED TO 6 MONTHS FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT
Last fall Terry Tremaine was hammered with a six month prison term for “contempt of court”, the third such complaint by his tormenter Richard Warman, who had, in addition, filed a Sec. 13 (Internet censorship) Canadian Human Rights complaint, a complaint to his employer which cost Mr. Tremaine his teaching position at the University of Saskatchewan, and a Sec. 319 (“hate law”) complaint under the Criminal Code, which was thrown out by a Regina judge last fall for undue delay but the bail conditions it imposed had kept Mr. Tremaine silenced politically for nearly four years.

Photo: APPEAL FACTUM OF POLITICAL PRISONER TERRY TREMAINE -- SENTENCED TO 6 MONTHS FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT

Last fall Terry Tremaine was hammered with a six month prison term for "contempt of court", the third such complaint by his tormenter Richard Warman, who had, in addition, filed a Sec. 13 (Internet censorship) Canadian Human Rights complaint, a complaint to his employer which cost Mr. Tremaine his teaching position at the University of Saskatchewan, and a Sec. 319 ("hate law") complaint under the Criminal Code, which was thrown out by a Regina judge last fall for undue delay but the bail conditions it imposed had kept Mr. Tremaine silenced politically for nearly four years.

Originally, Federal Court Judge Found Mr. Tremaine not guilty as the February, 2008  Canadian Human Rightds Tribunal "cease and desist order" had not been served on Mr. Tremaine until August, 2009. Apparently, his postings from February, 2008 until later that year were not sufficiently toned down in terms of privileged minorities for Mr.Warman's sensibilities.. Also, he had not removed a long list of offending passages -- although the poorly written order didn't instruct him to do so. In 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal on a 2-1 vote instated a finding of guilt and overturned the acquittal. It was back to Judge Harrington for sentencing in Vancouver in October, 2012. Earlier last year, the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal.

Remember, Sec. 13 had already been repealed by the House of Commons in June, 2012. So, Mr. Warman was being punished for contempt of a vague order imposed under a law that was so foul it had been repealed. The Senate repealed the law in June, 2013 and repeal was granted immediate Royal Assent. This makes the prospect of Mr. Tremaine heading for prison for "contempt of court" for failing to obey a vague order under a law that has been repealed even more ludicrous

Don't let them tell you Canada is a free country. Next time some earnest do gooder reminds you of the fate of dissidents in Red China or Burma or Cuba, be sympathetic but remind him or her that Canada has no reason to be self righteous.

 Our courts are quite happy to jail dissidents and gag opinion on the Internet, especially where the dissident has criticized powerful privileged groups.

 In China, if you criticize the powerful Communist Party, they send your impertinent butt to jail. In Canada, if you criticize privileged minorities, as has scholar and dissident Terry Tremaine, they fling your dissident self in prison.

 To all the naive folks listening to those tv ads about the 30th Anniversary of the Charter: Do you still think your rights are
 protected? Not if you cross politically powerful and privileged minorities.

Paul Fromm,

Director

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION

OVERVIEW 1

i. Standard of Review 2

PART I – STATEMENT OF FACTS 4

PART II – ISSUES 9

PART III - ARGUMENT 10

A. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and principle by failing to consider and apply the principle of restraint? 10

B. Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing the principle of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the individual circumstances of the Appellant? 13

C. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by, in effect, sentencing the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding that this Court has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission proceeded on that basis at the Sentencing Hearing? 14

i. Parity Principle 16

D. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining to consider the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison for 22 days as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant and substantially the same evidence? 18

PART IV – CONCLUSION AND NATURE OF RELIEF REQUESTED 26

PART V – LIST OF AUTHORITIES 28

Court File No.:  A-493-12

FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL

BETWEEN:

tERRy TREMAINE

APPELLANT

and 

Canadian human rights commission

and

richard warman

RESPONDENTS

MEMORANDUM OF FACT AND LAW OF THE APPELLANT

OVERVIEW

1.The evidence disclosed throughout this litigation establishes that the Appellant’s political message is, doubtless, deeply offensive to the overwhelming majority of Canadian citizens.  This Honourable Court has convicted the Appellant of civil contempt of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which had previously ordered the Appellant to “cease and desist” from communications of the type that resulted in the finding that he exposed protected groups of his fellow citizens to hatred or contempt.  This is an undeniable fact.

2.It is readily acknowledged that a conviction for civil contempt is a serious matter.  Nevertheless, the fundamental principles of sentencing mandated by Parliament - and consistently applied by Canadian courts sentencing citizens for contempt - must be properly applied to every citizen found guilty of an offence.  The specific facts of a rare case such as this also call for the consideration of broader legal principles. It is the role of the Appellate Courts to endeavor to ensure this is accomplished.

3.At the heart of this appeal is the Appellant’s assertion that these principles were not applied appropriately.  It is readily admitted that this case involves communications that are hateful, and that was clearly a concern to the learned sentencing Judge.  Mr. Justice Harrington was entitled to consider this as an aggravating factor.  However, the learned sentencing Judge was still required to balance this with other factors and correctly apply the appropriate principles.  This case called for the Court to sentence a citizen for a civil contempt as a first offender.  The learned sentencing Judge had a legal duty to give adequate consideration to the fundamental principle of restraint and the important mitigating factors that arose from the Appellant’s personal circumstances, as well as the surrounding social and legal context within which the offence occurred.  The Appellant will respectfully submit that adequate consideration of these principles and factors was not given in the case at bar, therefore causing the learned sentencing Judge to commit a reversible error.  These errors in law and principle led to a further error: that the sentence is manifestly excessive, and more appropriate for a criminal contempt.

4.Though the Appellant will advance two further arguments, it is primarily because of these three errors that the learned sentencing Judge imposed a sentence which is, in all the circumstances of this case, demonstrably unfit.

i.Standard of Review

5.Before discussing the law concerning the governing standard of review to be applied in this case, it should first be acknowledged that the grounds of appeal argued in this Memorandum will differ from the grounds asserted by previous counsel in the Notice of Appeal.  Nevertheless, all of the Appellant’s submissions concern issues that were before the learned sentencing Judge and are properly before this Court.  The Appellant respectfully submits that this Court has jurisdiction to hear this appeal as is framed in this Memorandum.

6.In Canada (Attorney General) v. de l’Isle1 this Court held that, with respect to a sentence for contempt, an appellate court may intervene only if the sentence imposed is “excessive or inappropriate having regard to the circumstance, or if that judge erred in law in passing sentence.”2  Though this appeal concerns a sentence for civil contempt, the Appellant’s liberty interests are directly engaged and, as a result, contempt is to be treated as quasi-criminal in nature.  For this reason, it is submitted that the deferential approach adopted in de l’Isle can be expanded upon by applying the principles outlined by appellate level sentencing cases in Canadian criminal law.

7.The standard of review to be employed by Appellate Courts when adjudicating sentence appeals is outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Shropshire3.  The standard was considered further in R. v. M. (C.A.)4.  At paragraph 90, the court stated:

Put simply, absent an error in principle, failure to consider a relevant factor, or an overemphasis of the appropriate factors, a court of appeal should only intervene to vary a sentence imposed at trial if the sentence is demonstrably unfit. 

8.While recognizing the important role appellate courts play in minimizing disparity of sentencing for similar offenders and similar offences, the Supreme Court recognized that sentencing is an individualized process.  It accepted that Parliament has given specialized discretion to individual sentencing judges.   As a result, the court stated at paragraph 92:

… I believe that a court of appeal should only intervene to minimize the disparity of sentences where the sentence imposed by the trial judge is in substantial and marked departure from the sentences customarily imposed for similar offenders committing similar crimes.

9.The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has recognized and applied this standard of review on numerous occasions.  In R. v. Campeau5, the Court re-affirmed the standard.  Further, it discussed what constitutes “unreasonableness” and “demonstrable unfitness” at paragraph 5:

This Court considers what constitutes "unreasonable" in R. v. Berntson and "demonstrably unfit" in R. v. Pankewich. In Pankewich, Jackson J.A., for the Court, described demonstrable unfitness as follows:

[31] ..."Demonstrably unfit" has been equated with unreasonableness (see Shropshire at para. 46); "sentences which are clearly or manifestly excessive" (see Shropshire at para. 47 quoting the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in R. v. Pepin (1990), 98 N.S.R. (2d) 238 (N.S.C.A.) at 251); "falling outside the 'acceptable range"' (see Shropshire at para. 50); sentences where there is a "substantial and marked departure from the sentences customarily imposed for similar offenders committing similar crimes" (see M. (C.A.) at para. 92) ... McDonnell [[1997] 1 S.C.R. 948] also states that a wide deviation from the accepted "starting-point" of sentencing for an offence will not, in and of itself, render a sentence demonstrably unfit, but rather is a factor in determining demonstrable unfitness…

10.In R. v. Rezale6, the Ontario Court of Appeal defined an error in principle as follows:

Error in principle is a familiar basis for reviewing the exercise of judicial discretion.  It connotes, at least, failing to take into account a relevant factor, taking into account an irrelevant factor, failing to give sufficient weight to relevant factors, overemphasizing relevant factors and, more generally, it includes an error of law.

PART I – STATEMENT OF FACTS

11.The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) held that the Appellant, Mr. Terry Tremaine, was engaging in discriminatory practice contrary to s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6 (“CHRA”) on February 2, 2007.  The Tribunal held that Mr. Tremaine’s messages violated s. 13(1) of the CHRA and issued a cease and desist order and a fine in the amount on $4,000.  Mr. Tremaine was not represented by counsel at the CHRT hearing.7 

12.Still unrepresented, he applied for judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision.  On September 18, 2008, the Federal Court found that the Tribunal’s decision was not unreasonable.  The Court held that neither the cease and desist order, nor the $4,000 fine were unreasonable.  Notwithstanding that the Appellant was not represented by counsel, the Federal Court declined to consider his application with respect to the constitutionality of s. 13(1) of the CHRA because he did not provide the requisite notice as required by the Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c. F-7. The Court further declined a request to have the judicial review adjourned pending the outcome of the constitutional application made in CHRC and Warman v. Lemire, 2012 FC 1162 (F.C.T.D.).

13.The facts underlying both the Tribunal decision and the judicial review concern Mr. Tremaine’s postings on 2 internet sites.  First, Mr. Tremaine is the Webmaster of the National Socialist Party of Canada website.  Second, he is a member of an American website known as “Stormfront”.  Stormfront provides forums where people can exchange ideas and messages in the form of postings.  The website is clearly geared towards white supremacy and neo-Nazi ideology, and is basically a cyber-meeting place for like-minded individuals.  Though you need to be a member to post on the website, any member of the public can download the content.  The slogan “White Power World Wide” appears on the Home Page of Stormfront, so the nature of the website is very clear to all visitors.  The Appellant posted on the website under the pseudonym “MathDoktor99”.  The majority of the postings attributed to the Appellant are repugnant and deeply offensive to the vast majority of Canadians.8 

14.The Appellant did not appeal the decision of the Federal Court.

15.In 2009, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) filed a motion in Federal Court for an order that the Appellant be found in contempt of the order of the Tribunal.  The motion was heard by Justice Harrington of the Trial Division of the Federal Court.

16.Justice Harrington held that though the Commission had established beyond a reasonable doubt that the Appellant had knowledge of the order of the Tribunal, it could not establish that he had knowledge that the order had been registered with the Federal Court until March, 2009.  He dismissed the charges for contempt, finding that the Commission had to register the Tribunal’s order with the Federal Court and serve the Appellant before it could be enforced.  The learned Trial Justice also dismissed the Appellant’s argument that he had not “communicated” within the meaning of s. 13(1) of the CHRA.

17.The Commission successfully appealed this decision to this Court.  The majority of the Federal Court of Appeal found that there was no legal principle that restricted the use of contempt powers to orders issued by superior courts.  It concluded that the CHRT’s decisions were no less enforceable by superior courts than the decisions of the superior courts themselves.  This Honourable Court declined to order a new hearing and instead substituted a conviction for civil contempt.  It directed that the matter be returned to the Federal Court for sentencing.

18.Counsel for the Appellant unsuccessfully applied for leave to appeal this Honourable Court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.  The matter was thus remitted back to the Federal Court Trial Division for sentencing.  It proceeded on the basis that the Appellant had been convicted of civil contempt.9 

19.As it was a civil contempt, the Commission submitted that the Appellant ought to be detained until his contempt was purged.  The Commission further submitted that as the matter was a civil contempt, the Appellant had the right to purge the contempt and therefore avoid imprisonment.  The Commission submitted that if the Appellant did not purge his contempt, that he ought to be imprisoned until he do so.10 

20.The Commission also sought that the Appellant remove the offending material from the National Socialist Party of Canada website and request that Stormfront remove his previous posts that were the subject of the contempt.

21.The complainant, Mr. Richard Warman, sought a period of unconditional imprisonment of 3 to 6 months.11The complainant further submitted that rather than ordering the Appellant to remove the infringing posts from the National Socialist website, the court ought to order the site shut down in its entirety.12 

22.The Appellant’s counsel unsuccessfully tried to argue that the Appellant did not have the requisite mens rea.  The Appellant further argued that for a period of time wherein the Appellant was found to be in contempt, s. 13(1) of the CHRA was found to be not constitutionally valid.  The Appellant argued that he was under an honest mistake of law and did not believe that the Tribunal’s decision was enforceable.  He further argued that the order of the Tribunal was ambiguous in that it prohibited “telephonic” communication rather than internet communication.  The Appellant submitted that there should be an order for compliance, and in default of compliance, 60 to 80 days imprisonment.  In effect, he asked for a sentence of imprisonment to be suspended to allow him time to purge his civil contempt.13 

23.The Trial Division of the Federal Court sentenced the Appellant to 30 days imprisonment.  It further ordered him to cease communicating or causing to communicate material of the type or substantially similar type to that found by the Tribunal and Federal Court to be likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination in violation of s. 13(1) of the CHRA.  It held that the Appellant would be imprisoned for a further 6 months or until he complies with the Court’s order, and directed the Appellant to approach Stormfront.org with a request to remove postings from their website and to remove specified postings from the National Socialist Party of Canada website.

24.In the decision under appeal, the learned Trial Justice began his decision by declaring that “the time [had] come at last to penalize Mr. Tremaine for acting in contempt of an order of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.”  The Court further noted the offensive nature of Mr. Tremaine’s messages.  It dismissed the Notice of Constitutional Question filed by the Appellant at the Sentencing Hearing, echoing its oral ruling at the sentencing hearing, in which it dismissed the motion without hearing evidence.  The court held that it was “most disturbing” that the Appellant had testified at the Sentencing Hearing that he had sold control of the National Socialist Party of Canada website to an American through Mr. Bernard Klatt.  The learned Trial Judge added that it was “obvious that Mr. Tremaine was attempting to put his website out of this Court’s reach”.  The learned Justice also saw fit to admonish the Appellant’s previous counsel in relation to submissions he made with respect to the Complainant.

25.It should be noted that the materials that were the subject matter of the previous hearings were also the subject matters of criminal proceedings in the Province of Saskatchewan.  The Appellant was charged with breaching s. 319 of the Criminal Code.  The Regina Police Service executed a search warrant and invaded his home and seized his computer.  As a result of an alleged breach of bail conditions, the Appellant served 22 days at the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre on remand.  The substantive s. 319 charge was eventually judicially stayed by the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench due to unreasonable delay.  The breach allegation was also stayed.14 

26.On December 3, 2012, previous counsel for the Appellant sent a letter to the Registrar of the Federal Court of Canada outlining the steps the Appellant had taken to comply with the order.15 

27.The Appellant, Terry Tremaine, is a 64 year old Canadian citizen residing in Regina, Saskatchewan.  He has a Master of Science in Mathematics, and has completed some doctoral studies at Queen’s University.  As a result of this litigation, his 20 year academic career has been completely destroyed.  Though there was no suggestion his personal political views ever affected his teaching career, the University of Saskatchewan dismissed him when the Complainant contacted them about Mr. Tremaine and threatened to go to the media if the institution did not take disciplinary action.  Subsequent to the loss of his profession, Mr. Tremaine suffered from depression that was so severe he required hospitalization.  He has been unable to find lasting, meaningful employment since his termination and is now indigent, and a qualified applicant for representation by Legal Aid Saskatchewan.16 

PART II – ISSUES

28.It is respectfully submitted that this appeal raises the following issues:

A.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and principle by failing to consider and apply the principle of restraint?

B.Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing the principle of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the individual circumstances of the Appellant?

C.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by, in effect, sentencing the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding that this Court has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission proceeded on that basis at the Sentencing Hearing?

i.Does the Sentence conform with the Parity Principle?

D.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining to consider the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison for 22 days as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant and substantially the same evidence?

E.While considering the hateful nature of the Appellant’s comments, did the learned sentencing Judge err by declining to also consider the broad social and legal factors that were relevant to the analysis of a just and proper sanction?

PART III - ARGUMENT

A.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and principle by failing to consider and apply the principle of restraint?

29.Though the law concerning both civil and criminal contempt is rooted in the common law rather than statute, the potential implications for a loss of liberty arising from a finding of contempt has led the courts to consistently apply the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.17  The criminal nature of contempt proceedings, even in a civil context, has led the established jurisprudence to accept that the principles of sentencing outlined in the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46 (“Code”) are instructive and should be followed.

30.In International Forest Products Ltd. v. Kern18, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reviewed the sentence for criminal contempt imposed on a protestor disobeying an injunction obtained by the plaintiff logging company.  The court considered its function as a reviewing court on appeal, and held that “[s]entencing for criminal contempt must be guided by principle and no better guide exists than those Criminal Code provisions which largely codified the judge-made rules on sentencing”.19  It went on to assess whether the original sentence was demonstrably unfit.

31.The Newfoundland Court of Appeal has also applied this reasoning.  In Puddester v. Newfoundland (Attorney General)20 the court held that both the principles and the sentencing options outlined in the Criminal Code can be adopted and employed in contempt proceedings.21  In Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice has even considered sentencing an offender to a conditional sentence of imprisonment, relying on a procedural rule giving a trial judge broad discretion in contempt sentencing.22 

32.With respect to the principle of restraint, this Honourable Court has affirmed its applicability in sentencing for contempt in Federal Court.  Relying in part on the seminal case of R. v. Gladue23, this court has held that a sentencing court must consider all other sanctions that may be appropriate before considering imprisonment, especially in cases involving citizens with no prior criminal record.  In Canadian Human Rights Commission v. Winnicki,24 this court stated at para. 20 (emphasis added):

The authorities are clear that a Court should take special care in imposing a sentence of imprisonment upon a first offender. The trial judge should have either a pre-sentence report or some very clear statement with respect to the accused's background and circumstances. This is particularly true of youthful offenders such as the appellant. Further it has been recognized that except for very serious offences and offences involving violence, the primary objective of individual deterrence can be best achieved by either a suspended sentence or probation or a very short term of imprisonment followed by a term of probation. (see R. v. Gladue, 1999 CanLII 679 (SCC), [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688). In R. v. Priest, [1996] O.J. No. 3369, at paragraphs 20 and 23 the Ontario Court of Appeal stated:

The duty to explore other dispositions for a first offender before imposing a custodial sentence is not an empty formalism which can be avoided merely by invoking the objective of general deterrence. It should be clear from the record of the proceedings, preferably in the trial judge's reasons, why the circumstances of this particular case require that this first offender must receive a sentence of imprisonment. The trial judge had no material before him from which he could possibly have made this determination. His reasons are barren of any lawful justification for such a radical departure from this well-established principle especially in the case of a youthful first offender.

Even if a custodial sentence was appropriate in this case, it is a well-established principle of sentencing laid down by this court that a first sentence of imprisonment should be as short as possible and tailored to the individual circumstances of the accused rather than solely for the purpose of general deterrence. …

Likewise, in R. v. Curran (1973), 57 Cr. App. R. 945 it was noted that,

As a general rule it is undesirable that a first sentence of immediate imprisonment should be very long, disproportionate to the gravity of the offence, and imposed as this sentence was, for reasons of general deterrence, that is as a warning to others. The length of a first sentence is more reasonably determined by considerations of individual deterrence; and what sentence is needed to teach this particular offender a lesson which he has not learnt from the lighter sentences which he has previously received.

33.The common law principle of restraint required that if imprisonment must be imposed for an offence, the shortest amount of time possible in the circumstances should be given.  Parliament codified and expanded this principle in ss. 718.2 (d) and (e) of the Code, which require sentencing judges to consider all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances.  It is respectfully submitted that this reflects an intention that imprisonment be considered a punishment of last resort.

34.As was the case in Winnicki25, the learned sentencing Judge did not consider the impact of the fact that the Appellant was a first offender in his reasons.  Moreover, he did not direct his mind to the accepted principle that in arriving at a just sanction, serious consideration must be given to dispositions other than imprisonment.  It is obvious that he did not consider suspending the prison sentence to allow the Appellant to purge his contempt to be sufficient.  However, it is apparent from the reasons that he did not consider alternative dispositions, such as probation with a community service order, which would have been more appropriate in the circumstances.  Even though the Rules don’t specifically provide for this type of disposition, it is submitted that the Federal Court has an inherent jurisdiction to control its own process.  This jurisdiction includes a wide discretion in imposing sanctions for civil contempt.  In Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency v. U-Compute,26 the Federal Court imposed probation with community service hours on an offender with two prior convictions for contempt of court.  

35.It is respectfully submitted that by not analyzing and applying the principle of restraint, the learned sentencing Judge erred in law.

B.Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing the principle of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the individual circumstances of the Appellant?

36.This court affirmed in Winnicki that it is an error for a sentencing Judge in contempt proceedings to neglect to consider the background of the citizen found in contempt.27  The rationale for the rule is that just sanctions require an assessment of both the circumstances of the offence and the offender.  A balancing of these circumstances is essential because sentencing is an individualized process.

37.The evidence at the sentencing hearing indicated that sometime after the complaint was filed with the Commission, the Complainant contacted the Appellant’s employer, the University of Saskatchewan.  He advised the University that the complaint had been filed, and requested that they take disciplinary action against the Appellant.  The Complainant advised that if the University did not take action, local and national media would be advised of the situation.  Mr. Tremaine, whose views were now exposed, was fired.  His twenty year academic career is in ruins, and he has been unable to maintain regular employment since. He is now on social assistance in Saskatchewan.  After being fired by the University, he fell into a deep depression, and was admitted to the psychiatric ward at the Regina General Hospital.28 

38.Neither this evidence, nor the fact that Mr. Tremaine was a first offender, was mentioned in the decision under appeal.  While it is recognized that the learned sentencing Judge considered several factors in this case to be aggravating, he had a legal duty to at least factor the mitigating circumstances into the final analysis.  This Honourable Court gave a clear direction in Winnicki that he must do so.

39.Every citizen, no matter how distasteful the court may view their conduct, is entitled to have a sentencing court consider the impact that the proceedings has had on his/her personal circumstances.  Justice demands nothing less.  It is submitted that the learned sentencing Judge made a very clear error in this respect. 

C.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by, in effect, sentencing the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding that this Court has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission proceeded on that basis at the Sentencing Hearing?

40.At one time, the practical difference between civil and criminal contempt was difficult to discern.  In UNA v. Alberta (Attorney-General),29 the Supreme Court of Canada considered this distinction.  Speaking for the Court, McLachlin J. (as she then was) stated at para. 20-21:

Both civil and criminal contempt of court rest on the power of the court to uphold its dignity and process. The rule of law is at the heart of our society; without it there can be neither peace, nor order nor good government. The rule of law is directly dependant on the ability of the courts to enforce their process and maintain their dignity and respect. To maintain their process and respect, courts since the 12th century have exercised the power to punish for contempt of court.

These same courts found it necessary to distinguish between civil and criminal contempt. A person who simply breaches a court order, for example by failing to abide by visiting hours stipulated in a child custody order, is viewed as having committed civil contempt. However, when the element of public defiance of the court's process in a way calculated to lessen societal respect for the courts is added to the breach, it becomes criminal. This distinction emerges from Poje v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1953] 1 S.C.R. 516, 17 C.R. 176, 105 C.C.C. 311, [1953] 2 D.L.R. 785, at p. 527 [S.C.R.], per Kellock J.:

The context in which these incidents occurred, the large numbers of men involved and the public nature of the defiance of the order of the court transfer the conduct here in question from the realm of a mere civil contempt, such as an ordinary breach of injunction with respect to private rights in a patent or trade-mark, for example, into the realm of a public depreciation of the authority of the court tending to bring the administration of justice into scorn.

41.As outlined by the court, criminal contempt requires proof of a requisite mens rea, including full knowledge that the public defiance will depreciate the authority of the court.30  In civil contempt, mens rea is not a factor until the sentencing stage.31 

42.The Appellant was convicted of civil contempt.  The Sentencing Hearing proceeded on this basis.  Counsel for the Commission was clear on this point, and very fairly pointed out to the Court that in civil contempt, it is generally accepted that the offender ought to be given the opportunity to purge their contempt.32  It is submitted that this comment is consistent with much of the jurisprudence.  After reviewing numerous cases involving both civil and criminal contempt, the B.C. Supreme Court in Telus Communications Inc. v. T. W. U.33 stated (emphasis added):

In reviewing the decisions where criminal and civil contempt have been found, it is apparent that most contempt proceedings involving labour/management disputes or civil "protest" disobedience have proceeded as criminal contempt, there is a wide variation in the punishment thought to be appropriate for any particular "type" of contempt, there appears to be little difference between the punishment imposed for criminal contempt and the punishment imposed for civil contempt, but incarceration is usually reserved for situations where criminal contempt has been found.

43.Though imprisonment is certainly possible in cases of civil contempt, it is submitted that it should not be commonly given, especially to a citizen without a prior record.  It is submitted that the learned sentencing Judge erred by failing to consider the distinction between civil and criminal contempt.  Effectively, the court imposed a sentence for criminal contempt notwithstanding that the Appellant had only been convicted of civil contempt.

44.This error, either alone or in combination with the errors of failing to consider both the principle of restraint and the personal circumstances of the Appellant,  led to the imposition of a sentence that was demonstrably unfit. With respect, it is manifestly excessive and not appropriate for a first offender convicted of civil contempt.

i.Parity Principle

45.As this court is well aware, another important principle of sentencing is that the sentence imposed be consistent with sentences imposed on similar offenders in similar situations.  For the purposes of assessing whether the sentence conforms to the parity principle, it is useful to consider sentences imposed in other contempt cases.

46.In MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. v. Simpson34 the court considered sentences for criminal contempt, which included jail sentences imposed on several citizens, including first offenders.  However the court pointed out that earlier in the litigation, several other individuals involved in the same protest were given fines, or prison sentences that were suspended to allow for an opportunity for the order to be followed.35  It was only when it was clear that previous lenient sentences were not effecting the Court’s purpose that the sanction of unsuspended imprisonment was employed.

47.In Regina (City) v. Cunnigham,36 the plaintiff municipality obtained an injunction enjoining the defendant from continuing to operate a strip club in a manner than contravened the city Zoning Bylaw.  Mr. Cuningham did not appeal the injunction.  After being convicted of criminal contempt, Cunningham was sentenced to a $2000 fine and 6 months imprisonment, suspended if he obeyed the injunction.  He did not purge his contempt and instead publicly declared that the club would stay open.  He was eventually committed to prison.  However, it is significant that even though Cunningham was convicted of criminal contempt, he was initially given a chance to purge the contempt before imprisonment was imposed.

48.In Winnicki,37 this court reduced a 9 month sentence for contempt of the Federal Court to time served, which was 83 days.  This case is factually similar to the case at bar, but it is not clear whether the finding was of civil or criminal contempt.  Mr. Winnicki had violated an injunction issued by the Federal Court Trial Division.

49.The B.C. Supreme Court sentenced several individuals for civil contempt in Telus Communications v. T.W.U.38  The sentences included orders compelling donations to charity, orders compelling community service, along with various fines and costs awards.

50.Other cases include:
i.Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency v. U-Compute39 – Civil Contempt, offender had two prior convictions.  He was sentenced to imprisonment, but it was suspended and included an order for community service work.

ii.Salt River First Nation 195 v. Marie40 – Civil Contempt, fines with default imprisonment for one defendant

iii.Telewizja Polsat SA v. Radiopol Inc41 – Civil Contempt, offender shows no remorse.  6 months imprisonment, suspended to allow for compliance.

iv.Canada (Minister of National Revenue) v. Money Stop Ltd.42 – Offender given 30 days to comply after contempt hearing and did not do so.  Eventual sentence included imprisonment, but it was suspended to allow for compliance.

D.Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining to consider the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison for 22 days as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant and substantially the same evidence?

51.As this court is aware, it is a common practice for criminal courts to factor pre-trial custody in to the analysis of an appropriate sentence.  It is submitted that this practice is rooted, fundamentally, in fairness and equity.  The most common legal regime employed to give effect to this principle of fairness is s. 719 of the Criminal Code.  However, it is not the only means by which the courts achieve similar ends.

52.There is nothing in the language of s. 719 of the Code to suggest that a citizen should be given credit for time spent on strict bail conditions while he/she awaits a disposition.  Nevertheless, strict release conditions are a deprivation of liberty.  The appellate courts have responded by requiring sentencing courts to factor these conditions into the analysis as mitigating factors.  In R. v. Downes43, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviewed Canadian jurisprudence and concluded that stringent bail conditions must be taken into account by sentencing Judges as a mitigating circumstance.44  The court did not mandate that a specific quantum of credit be given, as it recognized that different circumstances will require judges to vary its final impact on sentence.  While there is no strict formula, there is no doubt that pre-trial deprivations of liberty must at least be considered.  Though in a later case the court declined to hold that this principle could reduce a statutorily mandated minimum sentence, the basic principle remains law in Ontario.45 

53.Rather than through a specific statutory provision, the source of this rule is the courts’ desire to fulfill its role in delivering a just sanction on a citizen convicted of an offence.  In considering this principle and its underlying values, it is submitted that it should be applied in the case at bar.  Though the criminal proceedings were eventually stayed, Mr. Tremaine was detained at the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre for 22 days as a result of what appears to be the same evidence and witnesses that were before the CHRT.  He has thus incurred a serious deprivation of liberty as a result of what is substantially the same conduct.  The Appellant admits that there is no specific statutory compulsion to consider his previous imprisonment.  However it is respectfully submitted that the court’s duty to consider all relevant circumstances in arriving at a just sanction mandates that it should have at least factored into the learned sentencing Judge’s analysis.  The Appellant respectfully submits that by declining to even consider his pre-trial detention, the learned sentencing Judge erred in principle.

E.While considering the hateful nature of the Appellant’s comments, did the learned sentencing Judge err by declining to also consider the broad social and legal factors that were relevant to the analysis of a just and proper sanction?

54.At paragraph 26 of the Judgment under appeal, the learned sentencing Judge asserts that “this case is about law and order”.46  On its face, it may seem to be a correct proposition.  The law of contempt is concerned with the rule of law.  However, it is beyond doubt that the facts and the underlying legal and social context are always part of the sentencing process.  It is precisely because every sentence occurs within a larger social context that principles such as general deterrence and denunciation are considered and weighed against the individual needs of the citizens – both victim and offender - before the court.  Broad considerations are a necessary part of the task of arriving at a fit and just sanction.

55.The learned sentencing Judge understood this general proposition.  This can be deduced from the obvious concern he had about the conduct of both the Appellant and his previous counsel.  For example, he inferred from the evidence of the Appellant’s sale of the National Socialist Party of Canada website that it was “obvious that [he] was attempting to put his website out of the court’s reach” (para. 20).  He referred to Mr. Tremaine as “the villain” (para. 24).  He remarked that the Appellant’s previous counsel “used the courtroom as a bully pulpit to attack Mr. Warman” (para. 22).  He made special mention that, in this case, the court was no longer concerned about “free speech”.47  It should also be noted that in his submissions, the complainant urged the court that it “weighs upon the judgment of this court that the material is vicious hate propaganda”.48 

56.The Appellant does not quarrel with the learned sentencing Judge’s right and duty to consider other relevant factors beyond the simple fact of the contempt in imposing sentence.  Indeed, the central message of the argument in this Memorandum is that he ought to have considered more factors and principles than he did.  It would be less than honest to suggest that this case is merely about the fact of the civil contempt, as the very facts upon which the conviction is founded concern expression, albeit expression that has been determined to be hateful.   A sentencing court must balance many factors in relatively rare situations like the one presented in the case before this Honourable Court.

57.In R. v. Nasogaluak49, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the extent to which the Charter of Rights and Freedoms affects the sentencing process.  Though the case concerned the impact of a specific egregious breach of Nasogaluak’s rights on the sentencing process where a mandatory minimum was concerned, the court outlined some important general principles.  The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that a sentencing judge always had the authority to consider the impact of an infringement of a citizen’s Charter rights in arriving at a just sanction, and there is no requirement for a formal application for a remedy.  The reason for this is that the court understood that a “fit” sentence is one that respects and considers the fundamental values enshrined in the Charter.  At paragraph 48-49 (emphasis added):

Indeed, the sentencing regime under Canadian law must be implemented within, and not apart from, the framework of the Charter.  Sentencing decisions are always subject to constitutional scrutiny.  A sentence cannot be “fit” if it does not respect the fundamental values enshrined in the Charter.  Thus, incidents alleged to constitute a Charter violation can be considered in sentencing, provided that they bear the necessary connection to the sentencing exercise.  As mitigating factors, the circumstances of the breach would have to align with the circumstances of the offence or the offender, as required by s. 718.2 of the Code.  Naturally, the more egregious the breach, the more attention the court will likely pay to it in determining a fit sentence.

This is consistent with the communicative function of sentencing. A proportionate sentence is one that expresses, to some extent, society’s legitimate shared values and concerns.

58.This case does not concern a specific breach of the Appellant’s Charter rights.  However, that does not mean that the Charter is divorced from the analysis.  Our constitution remains present, and its values must be considered if the court is to arrive at a just and fit sentence.  This is precisely why the hateful nature of the Appellant’s conduct is an aggravating factor.  However, the Charter also speaks to mitigating factors in this case.  Fairness requires that these be considered as well.

59.For civil libertarians who believe that hateful speech should be confronted and challenged, rather than censored by state agents, the constitutional battle is lost.  This is fully and respectfully acknowledged by the Appellant.  Nevertheless, it is vital to recognize the context within which this court is operating.  State infringement on freedom of speech was found to be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society in the human rights legislative context in Canada (H.R.C.) v. Taylor50 and Saskatchewan (H.R.C.) v. Whatcott.51  However, the process by which the infringement was justified speaks to the fact that the Supreme Court and civil society still recognize that free expression is integral to both democracy and the rule of law - a bedrock right, upon which all other civil rights are built.  Indeed, it is a right integral to our modern conception of the rule of law itself.  The Appellant very respectfully submits that this Honourable Court should approach the issues in this sentencing with humility, fully cognizant of the nature of the s. 1 justification that provides the legal authority to take the liberty of a citizen who, while admittedly is guilty of contempt, is nonetheless on the facts of the case being punished for expressing his political views – however distasteful and repugnant they might be.  This same humility will also allow future courts to be vigilant in ensuring that the definition of “hatred and contempt” is not unduly expanded.

60.This does not mean that the conviction was improper, or that the CHRT and the court are not entitled to ensure its orders are respected and followed.  But, taking the liberty of a citizen is the state’s ultimate weapon, and it is the Appellant’s respectful submission that no court should lightly undertake this task.  This is especially true when the factual nature of the crime involves political speech.52  Justice must be tempered, especially when the legal regime’s constitutional justification rests on the proportional limitation of a fundamental right that resulted from a delicate balance of competing values that are all entrenched in Canada’s supreme law.
61.Again, the legal analysis by which the constitution allows state power to restrict a fundamental civil right under s. 1 of the Charter is itself a delicate balancing exercise that involves limiting freedoms that are part of the supreme law of Canada.   The seminal case on s. 1 is R. v. Oakes.53  At paragraph 66 of the decision, Chief Justice Dickson stated (emphasis added):

It is important to observe at the outset that s. 1 has two functions: first, it constitutionally guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in the provisions which follow; and second, it states explicitly the exclusive justificatory criteria (outside of s. 33 of the Constitution Act, 1982) against which limitations on those rights and freedoms must be measured. Accordingly, any s. 1 inquiry must be premised on an understanding that the impugned limit violates constitutional rights and freedoms — rights and freedoms which are part of the supreme law of Canada. As Wilson J. stated in Singh v. Min. of Employment & Immigration, supra, at p. 218:

... it is important to remember that the courts are conducting this inquiry in light of a commitment to uphold the rights and freedoms set out in the other sections of the Charter.

62.The s. 1 analysis requires the state to prove that the infringement of a constitutional right constitutes a minimal impairment of that right.  Further, the effect of the state infringement must be proportional to its objective.  At paragraph 74-75 (emphasis added):

Second, once a sufficiently significant objective is recognized, then the party invoking s. 1 must show that the means chosen are reasonable and demonstrably justified. This involves "a form of proportionality test": R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., supra, at p. 352. Although the nature of the proportionality test will vary depending on the circumstances, in each case courts will be required to balance the interests of society with those of individuals and groups. There are, in my view, three important components of a proportionality test. First, the measures adopted must be carefully designed to achieve the objective in question. They must not be arbitrary, unfair or based on irrational considerations. In short, they must be rationally connected to the objective. Second, the means, even if rationally connected to the objective in this first sense, should impair "as little as possible" the right or freedom in question: R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., supra, at p. 352. Third, there must be a proportionality between the effects of the measures which are responsible for limiting the Charter right or freedom and the objective which has been identified as of "sufficient importance".

With respect to the third component, it is clear that the general effect of any measure impugned under s. 1 will be the infringement of a right or freedom guaranteed by the Charter; this is the reason why resort to s. 1 is necessary. The inquiry into effects must, however, go further. A wide range of rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the Charter, and an almost infinite number of factual situations may arise in respect of these. Some limits on rights and freedoms protected by the Charter will be more serious than others in terms of the nature of the right or freedom violated, the extent of the violation, and the degree to which the measures which impose the limit trench upon the integral principles of a free and democratic society. Even if an objective is of sufficient importance, and the first two elements of the proportionality test are satisfied, it is still possible that, because of the severity of the deleterious effects of a measure on individuals or groups, the measure will not be justified by the purposes it is intended to serve. The more severe the deleterious effects of a measure, the more important the objective must be if the measure is to be reasonable and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

63.The fact that the type of expression uttered in this case has been found to be legally limited pursuant to s. 1 of the Charter does not mean that the underlying importance of free speech is divorced from the sentencing process.  The Charter right does not vanish from existence simply because legislation has been found to legitimately restrict it.  The values underlying the right must remain and factor into the sentencing analysis, because the court’s action in sentencing a citizen is a further infringement that must also be reasonable in the circumstances.  As the Appellant’s right to free speech has been limited, not removed, it is incumbent on any sentencing court to recognize that any action it takes must also be considered a further “effect” of the state’s power to limit the right.  Even if this consideration is difficult or uncomfortable when dealing with actions such as the Appellant’s hateful speech, it is respectfully submitted that a sentencing court must nevertheless measure its response with the underlying values of freedom of expression in mind.

64.Of course, this does not mean that the state cannot restrict the Appellant’s speech.  The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that it can.  Equality and the right to be free from discrimination are also integral rights.  The Appellant is not submitting that the court does not have the jurisdiction to take the liberty of a citizen for hateful speech.  What is submitted is that a fit and proper sentence is one in which the court recognizes that the delicate nature of the constitutional balance upon which this jurisdiction rests requires that justice be tempered and measured.  It is submitted that the sentence imposed in this case is also demonstrably unfit because it does not give sufficient weight to the solemn reality that the entire legal regime upon which this Appellant is before the courts rests on a delicate balance that allows for censorship and a limitation of a right of incredible importance to every citizen.  Surely in a situation such as that presented in the case at bar, the principle of restraint takes on special significance.

65.This is so even though the charge is contempt, because the underlying facts of the contempt relate to expression.  Those underlying facts were considered to be aggravating by the learned sentencing Judge.  It is significant to the sentencing process that part of the facts underlying the contempt include the Appellant’s dissemination of electronic books such as The Poisonous Mushroom, The Turner Diaries, and The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,54 especially when this court can take judicial notice of the notorious fact that these very same books are widely available on the internet, and some of them are even sold by online booksellers profiting off of Canadian customers.  This court can further take note that though Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf remains available in most major public libraries in Canada, the learned sentencing Judge nevertheless found that the Appellant’s decision to post a large quote from this widely available book was illegal and ordered it removed.55  It is submitted that an action by a court of law to prohibit the distribution of books has no place in a 21st century liberal democracy.  The Appellant respectfully asks the court to consider the implications of imprisoning a citizen in part because he disseminated books.
66.Also included in the broad social context is the fact that Parliament has now repealed the legislative provision on which this entire litigation is based.56  The Appellant understands that does not excuse him from his duty to follow the order of the CHRT.  Nor does it invalidate or question the conviction that this Honourable Court entered upon him.  However, the Appellant submits that Parliament’s action signals an intention to remove the jurisdiction of the CHRT to try these types of cases.  As part of the ongoing dialogue between Parliament and the Courts, it is submitted that it is incumbent on a sentencing Court to factor in Parliament’s message in arriving at a just and fit sentence.

67.With respect, the learned sentencing Judge did not consider the impact of either the underlying constitutional issue or Parliament’s decision to repeal the very legislative provision that formed the basis for the litigation.  As he did not do so, the Appellant respectfully submits that he erred.  The Appellant respectfully asks this court to consider that as the aggravating nature of the facts underlying the contempt must be considered in arriving at a fit sentence, so must the broader social and legal context be considered.  This court is humbly asked to reflect on the implications of taking the liberty of a citizen based on facts such those presented in the case at bar, even if that citizen’s views are repugnant.  It is respectfully submitted that is within the proper function of this court to send a clear instruction to trial-level courts that in sentencing a citizen in cases such as this, the delicate balance of Charter values must be given due consideration and respect.

PART IV – CONCLUSION AND NATURE OF RELIEF REQUESTED

68.The Appellant respectfully submits that the learned sentencing judge erred in law and principle for the reasons outlined in this Memorandum of Law.  The Appellant further submits that the sentence is manifestly harsh, excessive, and demonstrably unfit, especially considering that he is a first offender.

69.The Appellant requests that the 30 days imprisonment portion of the sentence be set aside, with the conditional/suspended portion of the sentence reduced to 60 days.  It further requests that portions of the prohibited material relating to books be severed, specifically “Exhibit H”, “M”, “AA”, “BB”, “CC”, and “DD”.

70.The Appellant asks for costs of the within appeal.

ALL OF WHICH IS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, this ________ day of July, 2013

Legal Aid Saskatchewan

Regina City Area Office

Per:      

Andrew L. Hitchcock

Solicitor for the Appellant, Terry Tremaine

PART V – LIST OF AUTHORITIES

Legislation and Rules of Court

Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11

Canadian Criminal Code, R.S.C 1985, c. C-46

Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6

Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as part of The Constitution Act, 1982,  Schedule B to the

Federal Court Rules, 1998, SOR/98-106

Jurisprudence

Canada (Attorney General) v. de l’Isle (1994), 56 C.P.R. (3d) 371 (Fed.C.A.)

Canada (H.R.C.) v. Taylor [1990] 3 S.C.R. 892 (S.C.C.)

Canada (Minister of National Revenue) v. Money Stop Ltd. 2013 FC 133

Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency v. U-Compute (2005), 284 F.T.R. 116

Canadian Human Rights Commission v. Winnicki, 2007 FCA 52

International Forest Products Ltd. v. Kern, 2001 BCCA 48

MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. v. Simpson (1994), 88 C.C.C. (3d) 148 (B.C. C.A.)

Penthouse International Ltd. v. 163564 Canada Inc., (1995), 63 C.P.R. (3d) 328 (Fed. T.D.)

Puddester v. Newfoundland (Attorney General), 2001 NFCA 25

R. v. Campeau 2009 SKCA 3

R. v. Downes (2006), 205 C.C.C. (3d) 488 (Ont. C.A.)

R. v. Gladue [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697 (S.C.C.)

R. v. M. (C.A.) [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Nasogaluak [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Oakes [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Shopshire [1995] 4 S.C.R. 227 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Yue (2007), 226 C.C.C. (3d) 349 (Ont. C.A.); leave to appeal to S.C.C. refused; (2008), 253 O.A.C. 397 (S.C.C.)

Regina (City) v. Cunningham, [1994] 8 W.W.R. 457 (Sask. C.A.)

Salt River First Nation 195 v. Marie, 2006 FC 1420

Telewizja Polsat SA v. Radiopol Inc. 2006 FC 137

Telus Communications Ltd. v. T.W.U. 2006 BCSC 397; reversed in part on the issue of costs; 2008 BCCA 144

U.N.A. v. Alberta (Attorney General) [1992] 1 S.C.R. 901 (S.C.C.)

Saskatchewan (H.R.C.) v. Whatcott 2013 SCC 11

1 (1994), 56 C.P.R. (3d) 371 (Fed.C.A.)

2 Ibid  at para. 6

3 [1995] 4 S.C.R. 227

4 [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500

5 2009 SKCA 3

6 (1996), 112 CCC (3rd 97) Ont. C.A.

7 Warman and CHRC v. Terry Tremaine, 2007 CHRT 2 (Appeal Book filed in Court File A-468-10)

8 Appeal Book filed in A-468-10, Vol. 1, Tab 4

9 Appeal Book at p. 239

10 Appeal Book at p. 240 - 244

11 Appeal Book, at p. 252

12 Appeal Book, at p. 261

13 Appeal Book, at p. 266 – 268, 270

14 Appeal Book, p. 384-385

15 Appeal Book, p. 370-371

16 Appeal Book, p. 112-122

17 See: Rule 469, Federal Courts Rules, SOR/98-106 (“Rules”); and Brilliant Trading Inc. v. Wong, 2005 FC 1214 at para. 15.

18 2001 BCCA 48

19 Ibid at para. 20

20 2001 NFCA 25

21 See especially Ibid at para 32, 54-55

22 Sussex Group Ltd. v. 3933938 Canada Inc., 2003 CanLII 27188 (ON SC)

23 [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 (S.C.C.)

24 2007 FCA 52

25 Ibid at para 21

26 (2005) 284 FTR 116 

27 Winnicki, supra note 24 at para. 21

28 Appeal Book, at 118-120

29 [1992] 1 S.C.R. 901 (S.C.C.)

30 Ibid. at para. 24-25

31 See: Penthouse International Ltd. v. 163564 Canada Inc. (1995), 63 C.P.R. (3d) 328 (F.C.T.D.)

32 Appeal Book at 240

33 2006 BCSC 397; reversed in part on the issue of costs; 2008 BCCA 144

34 (1994), 88 C.C.C. (3d) 148 (B.C. C.A.)

35 See Ibid, at para 15-21, 58

36 [1994] 8 W.W.R. 457 (Sask. C.A.)

37 Winnicki, supra note 27

38 Telus Communications supra, note 33

39 2005 FC 1644

40 2006 FC 1420

41 2006 FC 137

42 2013 FC 133

43 (2006), 205 C.C.C. (3d) 488 (Ont. C.A.)

44 Ibid, see especially: para 30-33

45 See: R. v. Yue (2007), 226 C.C.C. (3d) 349 (Ont. C.A.); leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada refused; (2008), 253 O.A.C. 397 (S.C.C.)

46 Appeal Book at p. 12

47 Judgment under appeal at para. 25, Appeal Book at p. 12

48 Appeal Book at 251.

49 [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206

50 [1990] 3 S.C.R. 892 (S.C.C.)

51 2013 SCC 11

52 in R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697, the Supreme Court of Canada was clear that even hate propaganda constitutes “political expression” at para. 95

53 [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103 (S.C.C.)

54 Appeal Book filed in Court file A-468-10, Affidavit of Richard Warman, p. 140

55 Appeal Book, at p. 17

56 Bill C-304 An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (Protecting Freedom), Royal Assent Statutes of Canada: 2013, c. 37]

Originally, Federal Court Judge Found Mr. Tremaine not guilty as the February, 2008  Canadian Human Rightds Tribunal “cease and desist order” had not been served on Mr. Tremaine until August, 2009. Apparently, his postings from February, 2008 until later that year were not sufficiently toned down in terms of privileged minorities for Mr.Warman’s sensibilities.. Also, he had not removed a long list of offending passages — although the poorly written order didn’t instruct him to do so. In 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal on a 2-1 vote instated a finding of guilt and overturned the acquittal. It was back to Judge Harrington for sentencing in Vancouver in October, 2012. Earlier last year, the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal.
Remember, Sec. 13 had already been repealed by the House of Commons in June, 2012. So, Mr. Warman was being punished for contempt of a vague order imposed under a law that was so foul it had been repealed. The Senate repealed the law in June, 2013 and repeal was granted immediate Royal Assent. This makes the prospect of Mr. Tremaine heading for prison for “contempt of court” for failing to obey a vague order under a law that has been repealed even more ludicrous
Don’t let them tell you Canada is a free country. Next time some earnest do gooder reminds you of the fate of dissidents in Red China or Burma or Cuba, be sympathetic but remind him or her that Canada has no reason to be self righteous.
Our courts are quite happy to jail dissidents and gag opinion on the Internet, especially where the dissident has criticized powerful privileged groups.
In China, if you criticize the powerful Communist Party, they send your impertinent butt to jail. In Canada, if you criticize privileged minorities, as has scholar and dissident Terry Tremaine, they fling your dissident self in prison.
To all the naive folks listening to those tv ads about the 30th Anniversary of the Charter: Do you still think your rights are protected? Not if you cross politically powerful and privileged minorities.
Paul Fromm,
Director
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION
OVERVIEW 1

i. Standard of Review 2

PART I – STATEMENT OF FACTS 4

PART II – ISSUES 9

PART III – ARGUMENT 10

A. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and  principle by failing to consider and apply the principle of restraint? 10

B. Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing  the principle of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the  individual circumstances of the Appellant? 13

C. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by,  in effect, sentencing the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding  that this Court has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission  proceeded on that basis at the Sentencing Hearing? 14

i. Parity Principle 16

D. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining to  consider the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison  for 22 days as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant  and substantially the same evidence? 18

PART IV – CONCLUSION AND NATURE OF RELIEF  REQUESTED 26

PART V – LIST OF AUTHORITIES 28

 

 

 

Court File  No.:  A-493-12

 

FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL

BETWEEN:

 

tERRy TREMAINE

APPELLANT

and

 

Canadian human rights  commission

and

richard warman

RESPONDENTS

 

 

 

MEMORANDUM OF FACT AND LAW OF  THE APPELLANT

 

 

 

OVERVIEW

 

  1. The evidence disclosed throughout this litigation establishes   that the Appellant’s political message is, doubtless, deeply offensive   to the overwhelming majority of Canadian citizens.  This Honourable   Court has convicted the Appellant of civil contempt of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which had previously ordered the Appellant to “cease and desist” from communications of the type that resulted in the   finding that he exposed protected groups of his fellow citizens to hatred   or contempt.  This is an undeniable fact.

 

  1. It is readily acknowledged that a conviction for   civil contempt is a serious matter.  Nevertheless, the fundamental   principles of sentencing mandated by Parliament – and consistently applied by Canadian courts sentencing   citizens for contempt – must be properly applied to every citizen found   guilty of an offence.  The specific facts of a rare case such as this also   call for the consideration of broader legal principles. It is the role of the Appellate Courts to endeavor to ensure this is accomplished.

 

  1. At the heart of this appeal is the Appellant’s assertion that these principles were not applied   appropriately.  It is readily admitted that this case involves   communications that are hateful, and that was clearly a concern to the   learned sentencing Judge.  Mr. Justice Harrington was entitled   to consider this as an aggravating factor.  However, the learned sentencing Judge was still required to balance this with other   factors and correctly apply the appropriate principles.  This case   called for the Court to sentence a citizen for a civil contempt as a first offender.  The learned sentencing Judge had a legal duty to give adequate consideration to the   fundamental principle of restraint and the important mitigating factors   that arose from the Appellant’s personal circumstances, as well as the surrounding   social and legal context within which the offence occurred.  The Appellant will respectfully submit that adequate consideration of these principles and factors was not given in the case at bar, therefore causing   the learned sentencing Judge to commit a reversible error.  These errors in law and principle led to   a further error: that the sentence is manifestly excessive, and more   appropriate for a criminal contempt.

 

  1. Though the Appellant will advance two further arguments, it   is primarily because of these three errors that the learned sentencing Judge imposed a sentence which is, in all the circumstances   of this case, demonstrably unfit.

 

    1. Standard of Review

 

  1. Before discussing the law concerning the governing   standard of review to be applied in this case, it should first be acknowledged   that the grounds of appeal argued in this Memorandum will differ from   the grounds asserted by previous counsel in the Notice of Appeal.    Nevertheless, all of the Appellant’s submissions concern issues that were before the   learned sentencing Judge and are properly before this Court.    The Appellant respectfully submits that this Court has jurisdiction   to hear this appeal as is framed in this Memorandum.

 

  1. In Canada (Attorney General) v.   de l’Isle1 this Court held that, with respect to a sentence   for contempt, an appellate court may intervene only if the sentence   imposed is “excessive or inappropriate having regard to the circumstance,   or if that judge erred in law in passing sentence.”2  Though this appeal concerns a sentence for   civil contempt, the Appellant’s liberty interests are directly engaged and, as a   result, contempt is to be treated as quasi-criminal in nature.    For this reason, it is submitted that the deferential approach adopted   in de l’Isle can be expanded upon by applying the principles   outlined by appellate level sentencing cases in Canadian criminal law.

 

  1. The standard of review to be employed by Appellate   Courts when adjudicating sentence appeals is outlined by the Supreme   Court of Canada in R. v. Shropshire3.  The standard was considered further in R. v. M. (C.A.)4.  At paragraph 90, the court stated:

 

Put simply, absent an error in principle, failure  to consider a relevant factor, or an overemphasis of the appropriate  factors, a court of appeal should only intervene to vary a sentence  imposed at trial if the sentence is demonstrably unfit.

 

  1. While recognizing the important role appellate courts   play in minimizing disparity of sentencing for similar offenders and   similar offences, the Supreme Court recognized that sentencing is an   individualized process.  It accepted that Parliament has given   specialized discretion to individual sentencing judges.     As a result, the court stated at paragraph 92:

 

… I believe that a court of appeal should only  intervene to minimize the disparity of sentences where the sentence  imposed by the trial judge is in substantial and marked departure from  the sentences customarily imposed for similar offenders committing similar  crimes.

 

 

  1. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has recognized and applied this standard of review   on numerous occasions.  In R. v. Campeau5, the Court re-affirmed the standard.  Further,   it discussed what constitutes “unreasonableness” and “demonstrable unfitness” at paragraph 5:

 

This Court considers what constitutes “unreasonable”  in R. v. Berntson and “demonstrably  unfit” in R. v. Pankewich. In Pankewich, Jackson J.A.,  for the Court, described demonstrable unfitness as follows:

 

[31] …”Demonstrably unfit” has been equated  with unreasonableness (see Shropshire at para. 46);  “sentences which are clearly or manifestly excessive” (see Shropshire at para. 47  quoting the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in R. v. Pepin (1990), 98  N.S.R. (2d) 238 (N.S.C.A.) at 251); “falling outside the ‘acceptable  range”‘ (see Shropshire at para. 50);  sentences where there is a “substantial and marked departure from  the sentences customarily imposed for similar offenders committing similar  crimes” (see M. (C.A.) at para. 92)  … McDonnell [[1997] 1 S.C.R.  948] also states that a wide deviation from the accepted “starting-point”  of sentencing for an offence will not, in and of itself, render a sentence  demonstrably unfit, but rather is a factor in determining demonstrable  unfitness…

 

  1. In R. v. Rezale6, the Ontario Court of Appeal defined an error in   principle as follows:

 

Error in principle is a familiar basis for reviewing  the exercise of judicial discretion.  It connotes, at least, failing  to take into account a relevant factor, taking into account an irrelevant  factor, failing to give sufficient weight to relevant factors, overemphasizing  relevant factors and, more generally, it includes an error of law.

 

 

PART I – STATEMENT OF FACTS

 

  1. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) held that the Appellant, Mr. Terry Tremaine, was   engaging in discriminatory practice contrary to s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6 (“CHRA”) on February 2, 2007.  The Tribunal held that   Mr. Tremaine’s messages violated s. 13(1) of the CHRA and issued a cease and desist order and a fine in   the amount on $4,000.  Mr. Tremaine was not represented by counsel   at the CHRT hearing.7  

 

  1. Still unrepresented, he applied for judicial review   of the Tribunal’s decision.  On September 18, 2008, the Federal   Court found that the Tribunal’s decision was not unreasonable.  The Court held   that neither the cease and desist order, nor the $4,000 fine were unreasonable.  Notwithstanding   that the Appellant was not represented by counsel, the Federal Court   declined to consider his application with respect to the constitutionality   of s. 13(1) of the CHRA because he did not provide the requisite notice   as required by the Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c. F-7. The Court further declined a request to have the   judicial review adjourned pending the outcome of the constitutional   application made in CHRC and Warman v. Lemire, 2012 FC 1162 (F.C.T.D.).

 

  1. The facts underlying both the Tribunal decision and the   judicial review concern Mr. Tremaine’s postings on 2 internet sites.  First, Mr. Tremaine is the Webmaster of the National Socialist Party   of Canada website.  Second, he is a member of an American website   known as “Stormfront”.  Stormfront provides forums where people can exchange ideas   and messages in the form of postings.  The website is clearly geared towards white   supremacy and neo-Nazi ideology, and is basically a cyber-meeting place for like-minded individuals.  Though you need to be a member to post on   the website, any member of the public can download the content.    The slogan “White Power World Wide” appears on the Home Page of Stormfront, so the nature of the website is very clear to all visitors.  The Appellant posted on the website under   the pseudonym “MathDoktor99”.  The majority of the postings attributed to   the Appellant are repugnant and deeply offensive to the vast majority   of Canadians.8  

 

  1. The Appellant did not appeal the decision of the   Federal Court.

 

  1. In 2009, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) filed a motion in Federal Court for an order that   the Appellant be found in contempt of the order of the Tribunal.    The motion was heard by Justice Harrington of the Trial Division of   the Federal Court.

 

  1. Justice Harrington held that though the Commission   had established beyond a reasonable doubt that the Appellant had knowledge   of the order of the Tribunal, it could not establish that he had knowledge   that the order had been registered with the Federal Court until March,   2009.  He dismissed the charges for contempt, finding that the Commission had to register the Tribunal’s order with the Federal Court and serve the Appellant   before it could be enforced.  The learned Trial Justice also dismissed   the Appellant’s argument that he had not “communicated” within the meaning of s. 13(1) of the CHRA.

 

  1. The Commission successfully appealed this decision   to this Court.  The majority of the Federal Court of Appeal found   that there was no legal principle that restricted the use of contempt   powers to orders issued by superior courts.  It concluded that   the CHRT’s decisions were no less enforceable by superior courts   than the decisions of the superior courts themselves.  This Honourable Court declined to order a new hearing   and instead substituted a conviction for civil contempt.  It directed   that the matter be returned to the Federal Court for sentencing.

 

  1. Counsel for the Appellant unsuccessfully applied for leave to appeal this   Honourable Court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.  The   matter was thus remitted back to the Federal Court Trial Division for sentencing.  It proceeded on the basis that the Appellant had been   convicted of civil contempt.9  

 

  1. As it was a civil contempt, the Commission submitted   that the Appellant ought to be detained until his contempt was purged.    The Commission further submitted that as the matter was a civil contempt,   the Appellant had the right to purge the contempt and therefore avoid   imprisonment.  The Commission submitted that if the Appellant did   not purge his contempt, that he ought to be imprisoned until he do so.10  

 

  1. The Commission also sought that the Appellant remove   the offending material from the National Socialist Party of Canada website   and request that Stormfront remove his previous posts that were the   subject of the contempt.

 

  1. The complainant, Mr. Richard Warman, sought a period   of unconditional imprisonment of 3 to 6 months.11The complainant further submitted that rather than   ordering the Appellant to remove the infringing posts from the National   Socialist website, the court ought to order the site shut down in its   entirety.12

 

  1. The Appellant’s counsel unsuccessfully tried to argue that the Appellant   did not have the requisite mens rea.  The Appellant further argued that for a period of time wherein the Appellant was found to be in contempt, s. 13(1) of the CHRA was found to be not constitutionally valid.    The Appellant argued that he was under an honest mistake of law and   did not believe that the Tribunal’s decision was enforceable.  He further argued   that the order of the Tribunal was ambiguous in that it prohibited “telephonic” communication rather than internet communication. The Appellant submitted that there should be an   order for compliance, and in default of compliance, 60 to 80 days imprisonment.    In effect, he asked for a sentence of imprisonment to be suspended to allow   him time to purge his civil contempt.13  

 

  1. The Trial Division of the Federal Court sentenced the Appellant to 30 days imprisonment.  It further ordered him to cease communicating or causing   to communicate material of the type or substantially similar type to   that found by the Tribunal and Federal Court to be likely to expose   a person or persons to hatred or contempt on the basis of a prohibited   ground of discrimination in violation of s. 13(1) of the CHRA.  It held that the Appellant would be imprisoned for   a further 6 months or until he complies with the Court’s order, and directed the Appellant to approach Stormfront.org with a   request to remove postings from their website and to remove specified   postings from the National Socialist Party of Canada website.

 

  1. In the decision under appeal, the learned Trial Justice   began his decision by declaring that “the time [had] come at last to penalize Mr. Tremaine   for acting in contempt of an order of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.”  The Court further noted the offensive nature of   Mr. Tremaine’s messages.  It dismissed the Notice of Constitutional Question   filed by the Appellant at the Sentencing Hearing, echoing its oral ruling at the sentencing hearing,   in which it dismissed the motion without hearing evidence. The court held that it was “most disturbing” that the Appellant had testified at the Sentencing   Hearing that he had sold control of the National Socialist Party of   Canada website to an American through Mr. Bernard Klatt.  The learned Trial Judge added that it was “obvious that Mr. Tremaine was attempting to put his website out of this Court’s reach”.  The learned Justice also saw fit to admonish the Appellant’s previous counsel in relation to submissions he made   with respect to the Complainant.

 

  1. It should be noted that the materials that were the   subject matter of the previous hearings were also the subject matters   of criminal proceedings in the Province of Saskatchewan.  The Appellant   was charged with breaching s. 319 of the Criminal Code.  The Regina Police Service executed a search   warrant and invaded his home and seized his computer.  As a result   of an alleged breach of bail conditions, the Appellant served 22 days   at the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre on remand.  The substantive s. 319 charge was eventually judicially stayed by the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench due to unreasonable delay.  The breach allegation was also stayed.14  

 

  1. On December 3, 2012, previous counsel for the Appellant   sent a letter to the Registrar of the Federal Court of Canada outlining   the steps the Appellant had taken to comply with the order.15  

 

  1. The Appellant, Terry Tremaine, is a 64 year old Canadian   citizen residing in Regina, Saskatchewan.  He has a Master of Science   in Mathematics, and has completed some doctoral studies at Queen’s University.  As a result of this litigation, his 20 year academic   career has been completely destroyed.  Though there was no suggestion   his personal political views ever affected his teaching career, the   University of Saskatchewan dismissed him when the Complainant contacted   them about Mr. Tremaine and threatened to go to the media if the institution   did not take disciplinary action.  Subsequent to the loss of his   profession, Mr. Tremaine suffered from depression that was so severe   he required hospitalization.  He has been unable to find lasting,   meaningful employment since his termination and is now indigent, and a qualified applicant for representation   by Legal Aid Saskatchewan.16  

 

PART II – ISSUES

 

  1. It is respectfully submitted that this appeal raises   the following issues:

 

    1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and principle   by failing to consider and apply the principle of restraint?

 

    1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing   the principle of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the   individual circumstances of the Appellant?

 

 

    1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by, in   effect, sentencing the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding   that this Court has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission   proceeded on that basis at the Sentencing Hearing?

 

      1. Does the Sentence conform with the Parity Principle?

 

    1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining   to consider the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison   for 22 days as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant   and substantially the same evidence?

 

    1. While considering the hateful nature of the Appellant’s comments, did the learned sentencing Judge err by   declining to also consider the broad social and legal factors that were   relevant to the analysis of a just and proper sanction?

 

PART III – ARGUMENT

 

  1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law and principle by failing   to consider and apply the principle of restraint?

 

  1. Though the law concerning both civil and criminal   contempt is rooted in the common law rather than statute, the potential   implications for a loss of liberty arising from a finding of contempt   has led the courts to consistently apply the criminal standard of proof   beyond a reasonable doubt.17  The criminal nature of contempt proceedings,   even in a civil context, has led the established jurisprudence to accept   that the principles of sentencing outlined in the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46 (“Code”) are instructive and should be followed.

 

  1. In International Forest Products   Ltd. v. Kern18, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reviewed the   sentence for criminal contempt imposed on a protestor disobeying an injunction obtained by the plaintiff logging company.  The court considered its function as a reviewing   court on appeal, and held that “[s]entencing for criminal contempt must be guided by   principle and no better guide exists than those Criminal Code provisions which largely codified the judge-made   rules on sentencing”.19  It went on to assess whether the original   sentence was demonstrably unfit.

 

  1. The Newfoundland Court of Appeal has also applied   this reasoning.  In Puddester v. Newfoundland (Attorney General)20 the court held that both the principles and the   sentencing options outlined in the Criminal Code can be adopted and employed in contempt proceedings.21  In Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice   has even considered sentencing an offender to a conditional sentence   of imprisonment, relying on a procedural rule giving a trial judge broad   discretion in contempt sentencing.22  

 

  1. With respect to the principle of restraint, this   Honourable Court has affirmed its applicability in sentencing for contempt   in Federal Court.  Relying in part on the seminal case of R. v. Gladue23, this court has held that a sentencing court must consider all   other sanctions that may be appropriate before considering imprisonment,   especially in cases involving citizens with no prior criminal record.    In Canadian Human Rights Commission v. Winnicki,24 this court stated at para. 20 (emphasis added):

 

The authorities are clear that  a Court should take special care in imposing a sentence of imprisonment  upon a first offender. The trial judge should have either a pre-sentence  report or some very clear statement with respect to the accused’s background  and circumstances. This is particularly true of youthful offenders such  as the appellant. Further it has been recognized that except for very  serious offences and offences involving violence, the primary objective  of individual deterrence can be best achieved by either a suspended  sentence or probation or a very short term of imprisonment followed  by a term of probation. (see R. v. Gladue, 1999 CanLII 679 (SCC), [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688). In R. v. Priest, [1996] O.J.  No. 3369, at paragraphs 20 and 23 the Ontario Court of Appeal stated:

 

The duty to explore other  dispositions for a first offender before imposing a custodial sentence  is not an empty formalism which can be avoided merely by invoking the  objective of general deterrence. It should be clear from the record  of the proceedings, preferably in the trial judge’s reasons, why the  circumstances of this particular case require that this first offender  must receive a sentence of imprisonment. The trial judge had no material before him from  which he could possibly have made this determination. His reasons are  barren of any lawful justification for such a radical departure from  this well-established principle especially in the case of a youthful  first offender.

 

Even if a custodial sentence was appropriate  in this case, it is a well-established principle of sentencing laid  down by this court that a first sentence of imprisonment should be as  short as possible and tailored to the individual circumstances of the  accused rather than solely for the purpose of general deterrence. …

 

Likewise, in R. v. Curran (1973), 57  Cr. App. R. 945 it was noted that,

 

As a general rule it is undesirable that a first  sentence of immediate imprisonment should be very long, disproportionate  to the gravity of the offence, and imposed as this sentence was, for  reasons of general deterrence, that is as a warning to others. The length  of a first sentence is more reasonably determined by considerations  of individual deterrence; and what sentence is needed to teach this  particular offender a lesson which he has not learnt from the lighter  sentences which he has previously received.

 

  1. The common law principle of restraint required that   if imprisonment must be imposed for an offence, the shortest amount   of time possible in the circumstances should be given.  Parliament   codified and expanded this principle in ss. 718.2 (d) and (e) of the Code, which require sentencing judges to consider all available   sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances.  It is respectfully submitted that this reflects   an intention that imprisonment be considered a punishment of last resort.

 

  1. As was the case in Winnicki25, the learned sentencing Judge did not consider the   impact of the fact that the Appellant was a first offender in his reasons.    Moreover, he did not direct his mind to the accepted principle that   in arriving at a just sanction, serious consideration must be given   to dispositions other than imprisonment.  It is obvious that he did not consider suspending   the prison sentence to allow the Appellant to purge his contempt to   be sufficient.  However, it is apparent from the reasons that he   did not consider alternative dispositions, such as probation with a   community service order, which would have been more appropriate in the   circumstances.  Even though the Rules don’t specifically provide for this type of disposition,   it is submitted that the Federal Court has an inherent jurisdiction   to control its own process.  This jurisdiction includes a wide   discretion in imposing sanctions for civil contempt.  In Canadian Copyright Licensing   Agency v. U-Compute,26 the Federal Court imposed probation with community   service hours on an offender with two prior convictions for contempt   of court. 

 

  1. It is respectfully submitted that by not analyzing and applying the principle of restraint, the learned sentencing Judge erred in law.

 

  1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err by overemphasizing the principle   of deterrence while paying insufficient attention to the individual   circumstances of the Appellant?

 

  1. This court affirmed in Winnicki that it is an error for a sentencing Judge in contempt proceedings to neglect   to consider the background of the citizen found in contempt.27  The rationale for the rule is that just sanctions   require an assessment of both the circumstances of the offence and the   offender.  A balancing of these circumstances is essential because   sentencing is an individualized process.

 

 

  1. The evidence at the sentencing hearing indicated   that sometime after the complaint was filed with the Commission, the   Complainant contacted the Appellant’s employer, the University of Saskatchewan.    He advised the University that the complaint had been filed, and requested   that they take disciplinary action against the Appellant.  The   Complainant advised that if the University did not take action, local   and national media would be advised of the situation.  Mr. Tremaine, whose views were now exposed, was fired.    His twenty year academic career is in ruins, and he has been unable   to maintain regular employment since. He is now on social assistance   in Saskatchewan.  After being fired by the University, he fell into a deep depression, and was admitted to   the psychiatric ward at the Regina General Hospital.28  

 

  1. Neither this evidence, nor the fact that Mr. Tremaine   was a first offender, was mentioned in the decision under appeal.  While it is recognized that the learned sentencing Judge considered several factors in this case to   be aggravating, he had a legal duty to at least factor the mitigating   circumstances into the final analysis.  This Honourable Court gave a clear direction in Winnicki that he must do so.

 

  1. Every citizen, no matter how distasteful the court   may view their conduct, is entitled to have a sentencing   court consider the impact that the proceedings has had on his/her personal   circumstances.  Justice demands nothing less.  It is submitted   that the learned sentencing Judge made a very clear error in this respect.

 

  1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by, in effect, sentencing   the Appellant for criminal contempt, notwithstanding that this Court   has convicted him of civil contempt, and the Commission proceeded on   that basis at the Sentencing Hearing?

 

  1. At one time, the practical difference between civil   and criminal contempt was difficult to discern.  In UNA v. Alberta (Attorney-General),29 the Supreme Court of Canada considered this distinction.    Speaking for the Court, McLachlin J. (as she then was) stated at para. 20-21:

 

Both civil and criminal contempt of court rest on  the power of the court to uphold its dignity and process. The rule of  law is at the heart of our society; without it there can be neither  peace, nor order nor good government. The rule of law is directly dependant  on the ability of the courts to enforce their process and maintain their  dignity and respect. To maintain their process and respect, courts since  the 12th century have exercised the power to punish for contempt of  court.

 

These same courts found it necessary to distinguish  between civil and criminal contempt. A person who simply breaches a  court order, for example by failing to abide by visiting hours stipulated  in a child custody order, is viewed as having committed civil contempt.  However, when the element of public defiance of the court’s process  in a way calculated to lessen societal respect for the courts is added  to the breach, it becomes criminal. This distinction emerges from Poje v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1953] 1 S.C.R. 516, 17 C.R. 176, 105 C.C.C. 311,  [1953] 2 D.L.R. 785, at p. 527 [S.C.R.], per Kellock J.:

 

The context in which these incidents occurred, the large numbers of  men involved and the public nature of the defiance of the order of the  court transfer the conduct here in question from the realm of a mere  civil contempt, such as an ordinary breach of injunction with respect  to private rights in a patent or trade-mark, for example, into the realm  of a public depreciation of the authority of the court tending to bring  the administration of justice into scorn.

 

  1. As outlined by the court, criminal contempt requires proof of a requisite mens rea, including full knowledge that the public defiance   will depreciate the authority of the court.30  In civil contempt, mens rea is not a factor until the sentencing stage.31  

 

  1. The Appellant was convicted of civil contempt.    The Sentencing Hearing proceeded on this basis.  Counsel for   the Commission was clear on this point, and very fairly pointed out   to the Court that in civil contempt, it is generally accepted that the   offender ought to be given the opportunity to purge their contempt.32  It is submitted that this comment is consistent   with much of the jurisprudence.  After reviewing numerous cases   involving both civil and criminal contempt, the B.C. Supreme Court in Telus Communications Inc. v.   T. W. U.33 stated (emphasis added):

 

In reviewing the decisions where criminal and civil  contempt have been found, it is apparent that most contempt proceedings  involving labour/management disputes or civil “protest” disobedience  have proceeded as criminal contempt, there is a wide variation in the  punishment thought to be appropriate for any particular “type”  of contempt, there appears to be little difference between the punishment  imposed for criminal contempt and the punishment imposed for civil contempt, but incarceration is usually  reserved for situations where criminal contempt has been found.

 

  1. Though imprisonment is certainly possible in cases   of civil contempt, it is submitted that it should not be commonly given,   especially to a citizen without a prior record.  It is submitted   that the learned sentencing Judge erred by failing to consider the distinction   between civil and criminal contempt.  Effectively, the court imposed   a sentence for criminal contempt notwithstanding that the Appellant   had only been convicted of civil contempt.

 

  1. This error, either alone or in combination with the errors   of failing to consider both the principle of restraint and the personal   circumstances of the Appellant, led to the imposition of a sentence that was demonstrably unfit. With respect, it is manifestly excessive and not appropriate for a first offender convicted of civil contempt.

 

    1. Parity Principle

 

  1. As this court is well aware, another important principle   of sentencing is that the sentence imposed be consistent with sentences   imposed on similar offenders in similar situations.  For the purposes of assessing whether the sentence conforms to the parity principle, it is useful to consider sentences   imposed in other contempt cases.

 

  1. In MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. v. Simpson34 the court considered sentences for criminal contempt,   which included jail sentences imposed on several citizens, including   first offenders.  However the court pointed out that earlier in   the litigation, several other individuals involved in the same protest   were given fines, or prison sentences that were suspended to allow for   an opportunity for the order to be followed.35  It was only when it was clear that previous   lenient sentences were not effecting the Court’s purpose that the sanction of unsuspended imprisonment   was employed.

 

  1. In Regina (City) v. Cunnigham,36 the plaintiff municipality obtained an injunction   enjoining the defendant from continuing to operate a strip club in a   manner than contravened the city Zoning Bylaw.  Mr. Cuningham did   not appeal the injunction.  After being convicted of criminal contempt,   Cunningham was sentenced to a $2000 fine and 6 months imprisonment,   suspended if he obeyed the injunction.  He did not purge his contempt   and instead publicly declared that the club would stay open.  He was eventually committed to prison.  However,   it is significant that even though Cunningham was convicted of criminal   contempt, he was initially given a chance to purge the contempt before imprisonment was imposed.

 

  1. In Winnicki,37 this court reduced a 9 month sentence for contempt   of the Federal Court to time served, which was 83 days.  This case   is factually similar to the case at bar, but it is not clear whether the finding   was of civil or criminal contempt.  Mr. Winnicki had violated an injunction issued by the Federal Court Trial Division.

 

  1. The B.C. Supreme Court sentenced several individuals   for civil contempt in Telus Communications v. T.W.U.38 The sentences included orders compelling donations   to charity, orders compelling community service, along with various fines and costs awards.

 

 

  1. Other cases include:
    1. Canadian Copyright Licensing   Agency v. U-Compute39 – Civil Contempt, offender had two prior convictions.    He was sentenced to imprisonment, but it was suspended and included   an order for community service work.

 

    1. Salt River First Nation 195 v.   Marie40 – Civil Contempt, fines with default imprisonment   for one defendant

 

    1. Telewizja Polsat SA v. Radiopol   Inc41 – Civil Contempt, offender shows no remorse.  6 months imprisonment,   suspended to allow for compliance.

 

    1. Canada (Minister of National   Revenue) v. Money Stop Ltd.42 – Offender given 30 days to comply after contempt   hearing and did not do so.  Eventual sentence included imprisonment,   but it was suspended to allow for compliance.

 

  1. Did the learned sentencing Judge err in law by declining to consider   the mitigating factor that the Appellant had been in prison for 22 days   as a result of criminal charges involving the same complainant and substantially   the same evidence?

 

  1. As this court is aware, it is a common practice for   criminal courts to factor pre-trial custody in to the analysis of an   appropriate sentence.  It is submitted that this practice is rooted,   fundamentally, in fairness and equity.  The most common legal regime   employed to give effect to this principle of fairness is s. 719 of the Criminal Code.  However, it is not the only means by which the courts   achieve similar ends.

 

  1. There is nothing in the language of s. 719 of the Code to suggest that a citizen should be given credit   for time spent on strict bail conditions while he/she awaits a disposition.    Nevertheless, strict release conditions are a deprivation of liberty.  The appellate courts have responded   by requiring sentencing courts to factor these conditions into the analysis   as mitigating factors.  In R. v. Downes43, the Ontario Court of Appeal reviewed Canadian jurisprudence   and concluded that stringent bail conditions must be taken into account   by sentencing Judges as a mitigating circumstance.44  The court did not mandate that a specific   quantum of credit be given, as it recognized that different circumstances   will require judges to vary its final impact on sentence.  While there is no strict formula, there is no doubt   that pre-trial deprivations of liberty must at least be considered.  Though   in a later case the court declined to hold that this principle could   reduce a statutorily mandated minimum sentence, the basic principle   remains law in Ontario.45  

 

  1. Rather than through a specific statutory provision,   the source of this rule is the courts’ desire to fulfill its role in delivering a just sanction   on a citizen convicted of an offence.  In considering this principle   and its underlying values, it is submitted that it should be applied   in the case at bar.  Though the criminal proceedings were eventually   stayed, Mr. Tremaine was detained at the Regina Provincial Correctional   Centre for 22 days as a result of what appears to be the same evidence and witnesses that were before the CHRT.  He has thus incurred a serious deprivation of liberty as a result of what is substantially   the same conduct.  The Appellant admits that there is no specific statutory   compulsion to consider his previous imprisonment.  However it is   respectfully submitted that the court’s duty to consider all relevant circumstances in arriving   at a just sanction mandates that it should have at least factored into   the learned sentencing Judge’s analysis.  The Appellant respectfully submits   that by declining to even consider his pre-trial detention, the learned sentencing   Judge erred in principle.

 

  1. While considering the hateful   nature of the Appellant’s comments, did the learned sentencing   Judge err by declining to also consider the broad social and legal factors   that were relevant to the analysis of a just and proper sanction?

 

 

  1. At paragraph 26 of the Judgment under appeal, the   learned sentencing Judge asserts that “this case is about law and order”.46 On its face, it may seem to be a correct proposition.    The law of contempt is concerned with the rule of law.  However,   it is beyond doubt that the facts and the underlying legal and social   context are always part of the sentencing process.  It is precisely   because every sentence occurs within a larger social context that principles   such as general deterrence and denunciation are considered and weighed   against the individual needs of the citizens – both victim and offender – before the court.  Broad considerations are   a necessary part of the task of arriving at a fit and just sanction.

 

  1. The learned sentencing Judge understood this general   proposition.  This can be deduced from the obvious concern he had   about the conduct of both the Appellant and his previous counsel.    For example, he inferred from the evidence of the Appellant’s sale of the National Socialist Party of Canada website that it was “obvious that [he] was attempting to put his website   out of the court’s reach” (para. 20).  He referred to Mr. Tremaine as “the villain” (para. 24).  He remarked that the Appellant’s previous counsel “used the courtroom as a bully pulpit to attack Mr.   Warman” (para. 22).  He made special mention that, in   this case, the court was no longer concerned about “free speech”.47  It should also be noted that in his submissions,   the complainant urged the court that it “weighs upon the judgment of this court that the material is vicious hate propaganda”.48  

 

  1. The Appellant does not quarrel with the learned sentencing Judge’s right and duty to consider other relevant factors   beyond the simple fact of the contempt in imposing sentence.  Indeed,   the central message of the argument in this Memorandum is that he ought to have considered more factors and principles than he did.  It would be   less than honest to suggest that this case is merely about the fact   of the civil contempt, as the very facts upon which the conviction is   founded concern expression, albeit expression that has been determined   to be hateful.  A sentencing court must balance many factors in relatively   rare situations like the one presented in the case before this Honourable   Court.

 

  1. In R. v. Nasogaluak49, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the extent   to which the Charter of Rights and Freedoms affects the sentencing process.  Though the   case concerned the impact of a specific egregious breach of Nasogaluak’s rights on the sentencing process where a mandatory   minimum was concerned, the court outlined some important general principles.    The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that a sentencing judge always   had the authority to consider the impact of an infringement of a citizen’s Charter rights in arriving at a just sanction, and there is no requirement   for a formal application for a remedy.  The reason for this is   that the court understood that a “fit” sentence is one that respects and considers the fundamental   values enshrined in the Charter.  At paragraph 48-49 (emphasis added):

 

Indeed, the sentencing regime under Canadian law  must be implemented within, and not apart from, the framework of the Charter.  Sentencing decisions are always subject to constitutional  scrutiny.  A sentence cannot be “fit”  if it does not respect the fundamental values enshrined in the Charter.  Thus, incidents alleged to constitute a Charter violation can be considered in sentencing, provided  that they bear the necessary connection to the sentencing exercise.   As mitigating factors, the circumstances of the breach would have to  align with the circumstances of the offence or the offender, as required  by s. 718.2 of the Code.  Naturally, the more  egregious the breach, the more attention the court will likely pay to  it in determining a fit sentence.

 

This is consistent with the communicative  function of sentencing. A proportionate sentence is one that expresses,  to some extent, society’s legitimate shared values and concerns.

 

  1. This case does not concern a specific breach of the Appellant’s Charter rights.  However, that does not mean that the Charter is divorced from the analysis.  Our constitution   remains present, and its values must be considered if the court is to   arrive at a just and fit sentence.  This is precisely why the hateful nature of the Appellant’s conduct is an aggravating factor.  However,   the Charter also speaks to mitigating factors in this case.  Fairness requires that these be considered as well.

 

  1. For civil libertarians who believe that hateful speech   should be confronted and challenged, rather than censored by state agents, the constitutional   battle is lost.  This is fully and respectfully acknowledged by   the Appellant.  Nevertheless, it is vital to recognize the context within which   this court is operating.  State infringement on   freedom of speech was found to be demonstrably justified in a free and   democratic society in the human rights legislative context in Canada (H.R.C.) v. Taylor50 and Saskatchewan (H.R.C.) v. Whatcott.51  However, the process by which the infringement   was justified speaks to the fact that the Supreme Court and civil society still recognize that   free expression is integral to both democracy and the rule of law – a bedrock right, upon which all other civil rights   are built.  Indeed, it is a right integral to our modern conception   of the rule of law itself.  The Appellant very respectfully submits that this Honourable Court should   approach the issues in this sentencing with humility, fully cognizant of the nature of the s. 1 justification that provides the legal authority to   take the liberty of a citizen who, while admittedly is guilty of contempt,   is nonetheless on the facts of the case being punished for expressing his political views – however distasteful and repugnant they might be.    This same humility will also allow future courts to be vigilant in ensuring   that the definition of “hatred and contempt” is not unduly expanded.

 

  1. This does not mean that the conviction was improper,   or that the CHRT and the court are not entitled to ensure its orders are respected   and followed.  But, taking the liberty of a citizen is the state’s ultimate weapon, and it is the Appellant’s respectful submission that no court should lightly   undertake this task.  This is especially true when the factual   nature of the crime involves political speech.52  Justice must be tempered, especially when   the legal regime’s constitutional justification rests on the proportional limitation of a fundamental right that resulted from   a delicate balance of competing values that are all entrenched in Canada’s supreme law.
  2. Again, the legal analysis by which the constitution   allows state power to restrict a fundamental civil right under s. 1   of the Charter is itself a delicate balancing exercise that involves   limiting freedoms that are part of the supreme law of Canada.     The seminal case on s. 1 is R. v. Oakes.53 At paragraph 66 of the decision, Chief Justice Dickson   stated (emphasis added):

 

It is important to observe at the outset that s.  1 has two functions: first, it constitutionally guarantees the rights  and freedoms set out in the provisions which follow; and second, it  states explicitly the exclusive justificatory criteria (outside of s.  33 of the Constitution Act, 1982) against which limitations on those  rights and freedoms must be measured. Accordingly, any s. 1 inquiry  must be premised on an understanding that the impugned limit violates  constitutional rights and freedoms — rights and freedoms which are  part of the supreme law of Canada. As Wilson J. stated in Singh v. Min. of Employment &  Immigration, supra, at p. 218:

 

… it is important to remember  that the courts are conducting this inquiry in light of a commitment  to uphold the rights and freedoms set out in the other sections of the Charter.

 

  1. The s. 1 analysis requires the state to prove that the infringement of a constitutional right constitutes a minimal impairment of that right.  Further,   the effect of the state infringement must be proportional to its objective. At paragraph 74-75 (emphasis added):

 

Second, once a sufficiently significant objective  is recognized, then the party invoking s. 1 must show that the means  chosen are reasonable and demonstrably justified. This involves “a  form of proportionality test”: R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.,  supra, at p. 352. Although the nature of the proportionality test will  vary depending on the circumstances, in each case courts will be required  to balance the interests of society with those of individuals and groups.  There are, in my view, three important components of a proportionality  test. First, the measures adopted must be carefully designed to achieve  the objective in question. They must not be arbitrary, unfair or based  on irrational considerations. In short, they must be rationally connected  to the objective. Second, the means, even if rationally  connected to the objective in this first sense, should impair “as  little as possible” the right or freedom in question: R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.,  supra, at p. 352. Third, there must be a proportionality between the effects of the measures  which are responsible for limiting the Charter right or freedom and  the objective which has been identified as of “sufficient importance”.

 

With respect to the third component, it is clear  that the general effect of any measure impugned under s. 1 will be the  infringement of a right or freedom guaranteed by the Charter; this is  the reason why resort to s. 1 is necessary. The inquiry into effects  must, however, go further. A wide range of rights and freedoms are guaranteed  by the Charter, and an almost infinite number of factual situations  may arise in respect of these. Some limits on rights and freedoms protected  by the Charter will be more serious than others in terms of the nature  of the right or freedom violated, the extent of the violation, and the  degree to which the measures which impose the limit trench upon the  integral principles of a free and democratic society. Even if an objective  is of sufficient importance, and the first two elements of the proportionality  test are satisfied, it is still possible that, because of the severity  of the deleterious effects of a measure on individuals or groups, the  measure will not be justified by the purposes it is intended to serve. The more severe the deleterious  effects of a measure, the more important the objective must be if the  measure is to be reasonable and demonstrably justified in a free and  democratic society.

 

  1. The fact that the type of expression uttered in this   case has been found to be legally limited pursuant to s. 1 of the Charter does not mean that the underlying importance of free   speech is divorced from the sentencing process.  The Charter right does not vanish from existence simply because   legislation has been found to legitimately restrict it.  The values underlying the right must remain and factor   into the sentencing analysis, because the court’s action in sentencing a citizen is a further infringement   that must also be reasonable in the circumstances.  As the Appellant’s right to free speech has been limited, not removed, it is incumbent on any sentencing   court to recognize that any action it takes must also be considered   a further “effect” of the state’s power to limit the right.  Even if this consideration   is difficult or uncomfortable when dealing with actions such as the   Appellant’s hateful speech, it is respectfully submitted that   a sentencing court must nevertheless measure its response with the underlying   values of freedom of expression in mind.

 

 

  1. Of course, this does not mean that the state cannot   restrict the Appellant’s speech.  The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed   that it can.  Equality and the right to be free from discrimination   are also integral rights.  The Appellant is not submitting that   the court does not have the jurisdiction to take the liberty of a citizen for hateful speech.  What is submitted   is that a fit and proper sentence is one in which the court recognizes   that the delicate nature of the constitutional balance upon which this   jurisdiction rests requires that justice be tempered   and measured.  It is submitted that the sentence imposed in this   case is also demonstrably unfit because it does not give sufficient   weight to the solemn reality that the entire legal regime upon which this Appellant is before   the courts rests on a delicate balance that allows for censorship and   a limitation of a right of incredible importance to every citizen.    Surely in a situation such as that presented in the case at bar, the   principle of restraint takes on special significance.

 

  1. This is so even though the charge is contempt, because   the underlying facts of the contempt relate to expression.  Those   underlying facts were considered to be aggravating by the learned sentencing Judge.  It is significant to the sentencing process that   part of the facts underlying the contempt include the Appellant’s dissemination of electronic books such as The Poisonous Mushroom, The Turner   Diaries, and The Protocols of the Learned Elders   of Zion,54 especially when this court can take judicial notice   of the notorious fact that these very same books are widely available on the internet, and some   of them are even sold by online booksellers profiting off of Canadian   customers.  This court can further take note that though Adolf   Hitler’s Mein Kampf remains available in most major public libraries   in Canada, the learned sentencing Judge nevertheless found that the Appellant’s decision to post a large quote from this widely   available book was illegal and ordered it removed.55  It is submitted that an action by a court   of law to prohibit the distribution of books has no place in a 21st century liberal democracy.  The Appellant respectfully asks the court to consider   the implications of imprisoning a citizen in part because he disseminated books.
  2. Also included in the broad social context is the   fact that Parliament has now repealed the legislative provision on which   this entire litigation is based.56  The Appellant understands that does not excuse   him from his duty to follow the order of the CHRT.    Nor does it invalidate or question the conviction that this Honourable   Court entered upon him.  However, the Appellant submits that Parliament’s action signals an intention to remove the jurisdiction of the CHRT to try these   types of cases.  As part of the ongoing dialogue between Parliament   and the Courts, it is submitted that it is incumbent on a sentencing   Court to factor in Parliament’s message in arriving at a just and fit sentence.

 

  1. With respect, the learned sentencing Judge did not   consider the impact of either the underlying constitutional issue or   Parliament’s decision to repeal the very legislative provision   that formed the basis for the litigation.  As he did not do so,   the Appellant respectfully submits that he erred.  The Appellant   respectfully asks this court to consider that as the aggravating nature   of the facts underlying the contempt must be considered in arriving   at a fit sentence, so must the broader social and legal context be considered.    This court is humbly asked to reflect on the implications of taking the liberty   of a citizen based on facts such those presented in the case at bar,   even if that citizen’s views are repugnant.  It is respectfully submitted that is within   the proper function of this court to send a clear instruction to trial-level   courts that in sentencing a citizen in cases such as this, the delicate   balance of Charter values must be given due consideration and respect.

 

PART IV – CONCLUSION AND NATURE  OF RELIEF REQUESTED

 

  1. The Appellant respectfully submits that the learned   sentencing judge erred in law and principle for the reasons outlined   in this Memorandum of Law.  The Appellant further submits that   the sentence is manifestly harsh, excessive, and demonstrably unfit,   especially considering that he is a first offender.

 

  1. The Appellant requests that the 30 days imprisonment   portion of the sentence be set aside, with the conditional/suspended portion of the sentence reduced   to 60 days.  It further requests that portions of the prohibited   material relating to books be severed, specifically “Exhibit H”, “M”, “AA”, “BB”, “CC”, and “DD”.

 

  1. The Appellant asks for costs of the within appeal.

 

ALL OF WHICH IS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, this ________  day of July, 2013

 

Legal Aid Saskatchewan

Regina City Area Office

 

 

Per:

Andrew L. Hitchcock

Solicitor for the Appellant, Terry Tremaine

 

 

PART V – LIST OF AUTHORITIES

 

Legislation and Rules  of Court

Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c.  11

Canadian Criminal Code, R.S.C 1985, c. C-46

Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. H-6

Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as part of The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the

Federal Court Rules, 1998, SOR/98-106

 

Jurisprudence

 

Canada (Attorney General) v.  de l’Isle (1994), 56 C.P.R. (3d) 371 (Fed.C.A.)

Canada (H.R.C.) v. Taylor [1990] 3 S.C.R. 892 (S.C.C.)

Canada (Minister of National  Revenue) v. Money Stop Ltd. 2013 FC 133

Canadian Copyright Licensing  Agency v. U-Compute (2005), 284 F.T.R. 116

Canadian Human Rights Commission  v. Winnicki, 2007 FCA 52

International Forest Products  Ltd. v. Kern, 2001 BCCA 48

MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. v. Simpson (1994), 88 C.C.C. (3d) 148 (B.C. C.A.)

Penthouse International Ltd.  v. 163564 Canada Inc., (1995), 63 C.P.R. (3d) 328 (Fed. T.D.)

Puddester v. Newfoundland (Attorney  General), 2001 NFCA 25

R. v. Campeau 2009 SKCA 3

R. v. Downes (2006), 205 C.C.C. (3d) 488 (Ont. C.A.)

R. v. Gladue [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697 (S.C.C.)

R. v. M. (C.A.) [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Nasogaluak [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Oakes [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Shopshire [1995] 4 S.C.R. 227 (S.C.C.)

R. v. Yue (2007), 226 C.C.C. (3d) 349 (Ont. C.A.); leave to appeal to S.C.C. refused;  (2008), 253 O.A.C. 397 (S.C.C.)

Regina (City) v. Cunningham, [1994] 8 W.W.R. 457 (Sask. C.A.)

Salt River First Nation 195 v.  Marie, 2006 FC 1420

Telewizja Polsat SA v. Radiopol  Inc. 2006 FC 137

Telus Communications Ltd. v.  T.W.U. 2006 BCSC 397; reversed in part on the issue  of costs; 2008 BCCA 144

U.N.A. v. Alberta (Attorney General) [1992] 1 S.C.R. 901 (S.C.C.)

Saskatchewan (H.R.C.) v. Whatcott 2013 SCC 11

1 (1994), 56 C.P.R. (3d) 371 (Fed.C.A.)

2 Ibid at para. 6

3 [1995] 4 S.C.R. 227

4 [1996] 1 S.C.R. 500

5 2009 SKCA 3

6 (1996), 112 CCC (3rd 97) Ont. C.A.

7 Warman  and CHRC v. Terry Tremaine, 2007 CHRT 2 (Appeal Book filed in  Court File A-468-10)

8 Appeal Book filed in A-468-10, Vol. 1, Tab 4

9 Appeal Book at p. 239

10 Appeal Book at  p. 240 – 244

11 Appeal Book, at p. 252

12 Appeal Book, at p. 261

13 Appeal Book, at p. 266 – 268, 270

14 Appeal Book, p. 384-385

15 Appeal Book, p. 370-371

16 Appeal Book, p. 112-122

17 See: Rule 469, Federal Courts Rules, SOR/98-106 (“Rules”); and Brilliant  Trading Inc. v. Wong, 2005 FC 1214 at para. 15.

18 2001 BCCA 48

19 Ibid at para. 20

20 2001 NFCA 25

21 See especially Ibid at para 32, 54-55

22 Sussex  Group Ltd. v. 3933938 Canada Inc., 2003 CanLII 27188 (ON SC)

23 [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688 (S.C.C.)

24 2007 FCA 52

25 Ibid at para 21

26 (2005) 284 FTR 116

27 Winnicki, supra note 24 at para. 21

28 Appeal Book, at 118-120

29 [1992] 1 S.C.R. 901 (S.C.C.)

30 Ibid.  at para. 24-25

31 See: Penthouse International Ltd. v. 163564 Canada Inc. (1995),  63 C.P.R. (3d) 328 (F.C.T.D.)

32 Appeal Book at 240

33 2006 BCSC 397; reversed in part on the issue of costs; 2008 BCCA 144

34 (1994), 88 C.C.C. (3d) 148 (B.C. C.A.)

35 See Ibid, at para 15-21, 58

36 [1994] 8 W.W.R. 457 (Sask. C.A.)

37 Winnicki,  supra note 27

38 Telus  Communications supra, note 33

39 2005 FC 1644

40 2006 FC 1420

41 2006 FC 137

42 2013 FC 133

43 (2006), 205 C.C.C. (3d) 488 (Ont. C.A.)

44 Ibid,  see especially: para 30-33

45 See: R. v. Yue (2007), 226 C.C.C. (3d) 349 (Ont. C.A.); leave to appeal  to the Supreme Court of Canada refused; (2008), 253 O.A.C. 397 (S.C.C.)

46 Appeal Book at p. 12

47 Judgment under appeal at para. 25, Appeal Book at p. 12

48 Appeal Book at 251.

49 [2010] 1 S.C.R. 206

50 [1990] 3 S.C.R. 892 (S.C.C.)

51 2013 SCC 11

52 in R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697, the Supreme Court of Canada was  clear that even hate propaganda constitutes “political expression”  at para. 95

53 [1986] 1 S.C.R. 103 (S.C.C.)

54 Appeal Book filed in Court file A-468-10, Affidavit of Richard Warman,  p. 140

55 Appeal Book, at p. 17

56 Bill C-304 An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (Protecting Freedom),  Royal Assent Statutes of Canada: 2013, c. 37]

Malevolent State Revokes Brad Love’s Bail — Letter Writing Political Prisoner Heads Back to Prison

Malevolent State Revokes Brad Love’s Bail — Letter Writing Political Prisoner Heads Back to Prison
Earlier this week, inveterate letter writing Brad Love flew back to Ontario to turn himself in — on Thursday. His bail has been summarily revoked after the death of his mother, who was his surety.
Mr. Love is appealing his conviction last year and 18-month sentence for “breach of probation.” The lengthy probation gag resulted from his 2003 conviction under Canada’s notorious “hate law”, Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code. At the culmination of a series of escalating conditions,  Mr. Justice Hogg (no kidding) forbad him to write to anybody, without their consent. In 2009, Mr. Love sent four packages of writings and clippings to a number of Toronto Jewish groups, having phoned and obtained their consent. This was not good enough, Last year for Ontario Court Justice Kelly Wright who said that their had not been informed consent convicted Mr. Love and sentenced him to a further 18 months in prison.
Photo: Malevolent State Revokes Brad Love's Bail -- Letter Writing Political Prisoner Heads Back to Prison

Earlier this week, inveterate letter writing Brad Love flew back to Ontario to turn himself in -- on Thursday. His bail has been summarily revoked after the death of his mother, who was his surety.

Mr. Love is appealing his conviction last year and 18-month sentence for "breach of probation." The lengthy probation gag resulted from his 2003 conviction under Canada's notorious "hate law", Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code. At the culmination of a series of escalating conditions,  Mr. Justice Hogg (no kidding) forbad him to write to anybody, without their consent. In 2009, Mr. Love sent four packages of writings and clippings to a number of Toronto Jewish groups, having phoned and obtained their consent. This was not good enough, Last year for Ontario Court Justice Kelly Wright who said that their had not been informed consent convicted Mr. Love and sentenced him to a further 18 months in prison.

Furthermore, she ruled: For three years,  "Mr.  Love is to refrain from any political speech or commentary to any media outlet, political, cultural or religious group or organization, or police organization, except with the express written permission of a political or religious organization" that welcomes him as a member or associate and with the permission of his probation officer.

In other words, a political gagging for another four and a half years.

 Last August, through his lawyer Peter Lindsay, Mr. Love filed an appeal before the Ontario Court of Appeal against both this conviction and the Stalinist sentence. He was granted bail involving $22,000 cash he'd posted and a surety against the value of his mother's house.  Six weeks ago, his mother died. Ten days ago, Mr. Love was informed by his lawyer that the vindictive Ontario justice system that has been gunning for him for more than a decade was revoking his bail.

The Crown, he was told,. was having a "hissy fit." It must be understood that breach of probation is a minor offence, usually punished by 30 days in prison. For sending non-violent communications, political dissident Brad Love got a further 18 months! Similarly, bail for breach of probation often is one's own recognisance -- a promise to appear at the hearing. Mr. Love has faithfully appeared at more than 10 hearings in this case. Yet, even $22,000 of his own cash is not enough to secure his freedom.

Thus, on Thursday, Mr. Love heads back to Lindsay, Ontario as a political prisoner. We use this term deliberately. Amnesty International defines  "prisoners of conscience"  thus on their website: "people who have been jailed because of their political, religious or other conscientiously-held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth, sexual orientation or other status, provided that they have neither used nor advocated violence." That describes letter writer extraordinaire Brad Love to a tee.

No date has been set yet for his appeal. Thus, he could sit in prison for months, losing money through unemployment. The poxy Ontario justice system is nothing but vindictive.

As a measure of the special abuse heaped on political dissidents in Ontario prisons, Mr. Love told CAFE that, when he was serving his previous 18 months sentence under Canada's "hate law", he was not allowed to work in the prison. Mr. Love, who puts in 80 hour weeks at his job in Fort McMurray is the Protestant work ethic on steroids. When he asked why he was not allowed to work in prison, he was told he was a "known affiliate" -- that is, of politically incorrect groups. That was worse than being a biker. As in the old Soviet Union, he was a political dissident -- the worst of the worst. The message, Mr. Love told CAFE, was: "Be a robot, Brad, and don't express your opinions."

Mr. Love is instructing his lawyer urgently to seek bail pending the hearing of his appeal.

Furthermore, she ruled: For three years,  “Mr.  Love is to refrain from any political speech or commentary to any media outlet, political, cultural or religious group or organization, or police organization, except with the express written permission of a political or religious organization” that welcomes him as a member or associate and with the permission of his probation officer.
In other words, a political gagging for another four and a half years.
 Last August, through his lawyer Peter Lindsay, Mr. Love filed an appeal before the Ontario Court of Appeal against both this conviction and the Stalinist sentence. He was granted bail involving $22,000 cash he’d posted and a surety against the value of his mother’s house.  Six weeks ago, his mother died. Ten days ago, Mr. Love was informed by his lawyer that the vindictive Ontario justice system that has been gunning for him for more than a decade was revoking his bail.
The Crown, he was told,. was having a “hissy fit.” It must be understood that breach of probation is a minor offence, usually punished by 30 days in prison. For sending non-violent communications, political dissident Brad Love got a further 18 months! Similarly, bail for breach of probation often is one’s own recognisance — a promise to appear at the hearing. Mr. Love has faithfully appeared at more than 10 hearings in this case. Yet, even $22,000 of his own cash is not enough to secure his freedom.
Thus, on Thursday, Mr. Love heads back to Lindsay, Ontario as a political prisoner. We use this term deliberately. Amnesty International defines  “prisoners of conscience”  thus on their website: “people who have been jailed because of their political, religious or other conscientiously-held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, color, language, national or social origin, economic status, birth, sexual orientation or other status, provided that they have neither used nor advocated violence.” That describes letter writer extraordinaire Brad Love to a tee.
No date has been set yet for his appeal. Thus, he could sit in prison for months, losing money through unemployment. The poxy Ontario justice system is nothing but vindictive.
As a measure of the special abuse heaped on political dissidents in Ontario prisons, Mr. Love told CAFE that, when he was serving his previous 18 months sentence under Canada’s “hate law”, he was not allowed to work in the prison. Mr. Love, who puts in 80 hour weeks at his job in Fort McMurray is the Protestant work ethic on steroids. When he asked why he was not allowed to work in prison, he was told he was a “known affiliate” — that is, of politically incorrect groups. That was worse than being a biker. As in the old Soviet Union, he was a political dissident — the worst of the worst. The message, Mr. Love told CAFE, was: “Be a robot, Brad, and don’t express your opinions.”
Mr. Love is instructing his lawyer urgently to seek bail pending the hearing of his appeal.

Arthur Topham Explains His Response to Warman’s Libel Threat

Arthur Topham Explains His Response to Warman’s Libel Threat
Dear Free Speech Supporter:
Let’s never confuse Canada’s cankered legal system with fairness or justice. It may be the “law” but it isn’t necessarily fairness or justice.
Free speech hero and anti-Zionist advocate Arthur Topham, is currently fighting a very serious Sec. 319 (“hate law”) charge, instigated by Richard( the chronic complaint filer Warman) and Harry (“Mr. B’nai Brith B.C.”)  Abrams. Not surprisingly, the complaint was swiftly adopted by the political police out in BC, the RCMP hate squad headed by Det. Const. Terry Wilson, ex of the London Police Service hate Squad.
These charges could send Mr. Topham to prison for two years. His silencing has for some years been the goal of Canada’s thought police. In 2007, Harry Abrams who had previously tried to use the B.C. Human Rights Commission to silence war hero and columnist Doug Collins, filed a complaint against Arthur Topham and his Zionist-critical website radical[press.com. under Se. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (truth is no defence, intent is no defence).  When Marc Lemire won his case —  against yet  another  Warman complaint — on September 2, 2009, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal adjourned the several outstanding complaints, including the one against Arthur Topham and Radicalpress.com, sine die.
So, Abrams and Warman, in an effort to silence Mr. Topham, then launched the present Sec. 319 “hate law” charges.
Back in 2005, speaking to the violence-prone Anti-Racist Action (ARA) and then in a boastful and expansive mood, Mr. Warman explained the tactic he called “maximum disruption.” He indicated that, depending on the circumstances and his mood, he’d file Sec. 13 (now repealed by Parliament) human rights complaints and or Criminal Code Sec. 319 complaints against his ideological targets.
He didn’t add, but he might have, that should the victims criticize him, they might find themselves subject to a libel suit. In fact. Mark and Connie Fournier of the pro-Zionist but pro-free speech FreeDominion.com website, who face no fewer than three Warman libel suits, indicate that, by their reckoning, Warman has filed or threatened to file no fewer than 60 (yes, sixty!) defamation actions against critics over the past 13 years.
So, in the effort to silence Arthur Topham and Radicalpress.com, the Sec. 13 having been stymied, Mr. Warman and Abrams filed the Sec. 319 “hate law” charges. When the gutsy Arthur Topham refused to be silenced and continued to post his contentious critiques of Richard Warman on his website the latest libel threat was issued. Maximum disruption!
I’ve been there. From 2003 to final resolution, when the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear our appeal in 2009. CAFE and I fought a Richard Warman libel suit aimed at CAFE’s efforts to defend the victims of Warman’s Sec. 13 complaints,. Ultimately, I can’t explain it or believe it, but Madame Justice Monique Metivier decided that our calling Richard Warman a “censor” was libellous. So, here’s one state-protected person around whom we must tip-toe carefully.
I know it’s not the free Anglo-Saxon system of open discussion we thought we’d inherited, but it’s the perverse legal reality of the present in a Canada with a judicial system, at least at the very top, firmly in the control of the cultural Marxists. We llive in enemy occupied territory where many truths can be told, if at all, only with great circumspection.
Purists may say that Arthur should fight and stand by the truths of his postings. The problem is that justice in this poxy country, as even several of the members of the current Supreme Court have noted, is beyond the means of the ordinary man. Arthur Topham has elected to withdraw from the libel fight and accept the imposition of extreme caution in mentioning the name of Canada’s legal establishment’s fair haired boy, Richard Warman and, despite his destitution, compensate the posh Ottawa civil servant $500 for his legal fees. Those who might criticize Mr. Topham should answer the simple question: “Along with your keyboard commando critique, have you sent him a cheque for $50,000 to carry on the fight?” A libel case would almost certainly be held for the complainant’s convenience close to home in Ottawa. How is the impoverished Arthur Topham,who can barely afford the gas money to go to Quesnel, to fund a libel case that could last weeks in far-off Ottawa? Mr. Topham seems to think the action would be fought in Toronto. Warman’s previous modus operandi suggests the venue would actually be his present home town of Ottawa.
The Ontario courts in Ottawa are hostile territory. A lawyer told me some years ago “the courts here don’t like you guys” — meaning free speech supporters. That would be the hostile environment in which Westerner and free thinker — both outsider groups in Ottawa  — Arthur Topham would have to fight. Justice in Canada today is for the rich or the government-funded, not for rock scrabble freethinking pensioners like Arthur Topham.
Warman’s threat of libel action, of course, comes strategically just as Arthur Topham’s “hate law” case begins. It is difficult, with limited resources, to fight on two fronts. Warman, who has, one assumes a full time job somewhere in the Department of National Defence, seems to somehow find endless time for a legion of lawsuits and complaints. Outside the weird Ottawa world, a libel suit consumes one’s life. I know, having been there with a previous Warman defamation action that gobbled up six years (!) of my time and effort, interestingly at the very time I was being hounded by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation in a prolonged and equally costly action to take away my teaching certificate for expressing on by own time, off school property, my political beliefs. 
Bottom line: Arthur Topham continues to need and shall receive our support for his battle against the forces of thought control seeking to send him to jail for his views through the current Sec. 319 “hate law” charges he presently faces.
Paul Fromm
Director
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION
Screen Shot 2013-07-07 at 8.47.05 AM.png
RadicalPressNewsLetter
 Warman Libel Suit Threat Against Radical Press
by
Arthur Topham
July 22, 2013
“He who fights and runs away
May live to fight another day;
But he who is in battle slain,
Can never rise to fight again.”
~Oliver Goldsmith, (1728 – 1774),
Art of Poetry on a New Plan, Vol. 2
On the evening of Wednesday, July 3, 2013 a car drove up my driveway and parked in the yard. An elderly man got out holding a large brown envelope in his hand and was proceeding to walk toward the house when I came out on the front porch. He asked, “Are you Arthur Topham?” I replied, “That depends on who you are.”
He broke out in a kind of a half laugh, half grin and came up to hand me the envelope. I asked him what it was and he again replied in a rather subdued tone that it was from some law firm from back east with a name he couldn’t pronounce. At that point my wife also walked out on the front steps and asked him point blank, “Is it from Richard Warman?” He said no, but he thought it mentioned his name and had something to do with him.
As he walked away, as if to cover his back, he mumbled something about being “only the messenger”.
I went back into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, opened the envelope and read the enclosed letter. It was from Jeff Saikaley of the law firm of Caza Sailaley out of Toronto. It began, “Dear Sir: Re: Richard Warman Libel Notice.”
The origin of the supposed offending, libellous and defamatory piece was an article by Marc Lemire which I had received from him December 31, 2012 titled, “Richard Warman’s ‘Maximum Disruption’ Attacks upon Freedom of Speech in Canada”. I published it on the RadicalPress.com website January 3, 2013 and added a Preface of my own comments. It was the Preface which Richard Warman was objecting to and using as the basis for his notice.
Having finished reading the letter out loud my wife left the room, obviously upset. I went upstairs to my office to consider what my response would be to this latest legal missile from the same person who, along with B’nai Brith Canada’s representative Harry Abrams, had laid the Sec. 319(2) “hate crime” complaint against me and RadicalPress.com back in 2012; one that culminated in my arrest on May 16th, 2012 and the seizure of all of my computers, electronic files as well as my firearms.
Not being the type of person who takes threats of this nature lightly I had a lot of things to consider over the next few days, apart from getting ready for the July 9, 2013 court appearance. Having observed Warman’s incessant, vexatious tactics of filing libel and defamation suits against anyone who he felt was not treating him in the manner in which he was accustomed to being treated by those such as the Jewish lobbyists here in Canada like the Canadian Jewish Congress, who, in the past have presented special awards to Mr. Warman for his efforts in combatting what they erroneously perceive to be “racism” and “anti-Semitism”, I realized that this latest assault was one that I would have to deal with quickly if I wanted to avoid yet another lengthy and most likely fruitless legal battle.
Warman was demanding a full retraction and apology for the things I had said about him in my Preface and he also wanted both my comments plus Lemire’s article removed from RadicalPress.com and the retraction posted where the article once was and left there permanently. I was to post the retraction/apology as the lead article on the website for five days in a row as well.
After deliberating on this ultimatum I contacted some of my legal friends for advice and it was suggested that given my overall situation with respect to the already onerous legal burdens now before me that it would be best to bow out of this additional brawl with Warman and avoid what would likely be the inescapable result.
Having no funds to hire a lawyer was the first consideration that I had to face. Given that this libel threat would be a civil suit there would be no possibility of obtaining a Rowbotham application as in my present sec. 319(2) criminal charge, also brought on by Warman. Without counsel the case would likely be heard in Toronto and that would necessitate my having to travel across Canada in order to fight it. Given that I struggle to find enough gas to get into Quesnel, a distance of approximately 30 km, the chances of finding the fuel and money to survive a trip out to Toronto (or possibly more than one trip) would be extremely thin if not impossible. Then of course was the possibility of being found guilty and having to face a huge fine which, because I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay it, would likely mean a judgment registered against my home. Given all of these factors it was easy to see (being a placer miner or not) that I was between a rock and a very hard place. Having placed my pawn in the direct path of Warman’s queen there was little left for me to do but retract.
On July 8th, 2013 I replied to Warman’s lawyer and stated the following:
I am in receipt of your June 27, 2013 letter which was hand delivered to me on the evening of July 3, 2013.
I have read it through and given it my full consideration.
Given the fact that I am currently facing two legal challenges to my constitutional right to freedom of speech on the Internet, i.e. a Section 13(1) complaint plus a Section 319(2) CCC which your client Mr. Richard Warman, along with Mr. Harry Abrams, conspired to initiate against me, I recognize that a third legal action is beyond my present ability to meet.
Mr. Warman, as I am confident you are well aware, knows full well that I am presently without legal counsel due to the untimely death of my former solicitor Mr. Douglas Christie and that my financial situation is such that, of necessity, I am currently forced to represent myself pro ce in both the Sec. 319(2) charge and the stayed Sec. 13(1) complaint pending the outcome in the Warman v Lemire appeal now before the federal court. A third civil libel suit wherein I would be basically at the mercy of forces beyond my immediate capacity to deal with is therefore not an option for me.
I recognize that I am caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place and therefore am willing to meet Mr. Warman’s demands, as contained in your letter of June 27, 2013, to publish a complete retraction and apology for the allegations contained in my January 1, 2013 Article entitled “Richard Warman’s ‘Maximum Disruption’ Attacks upon Freedom of Speech in Canada from Marc Lemire at freedom site.org” located at URL http://www.radicalpress.com and a unique website page containing the Article at http://www.radicalpress.com/?p=1877
Prior to removing said Article from www.radicalpress.com I would like written confirmation from your office stating that in doing so the matter would be concluded and no further vexatious repercussions would arise from the Article.
As well I will do everything in my capacity as the copyright holder to have all third party republications of my Article removed.
Please advise if these steps are sufficient to meet your client’s demands and if so I will proceed to fulfil them immediately.
On July 11th, 2013 I received a reply from Jeff Saikaley stating:
Dear Mr. Topham:
 
Thank you for your note.  I confirm that if you fulfill the conditions outlined in my letter of 27 June 2013 within 24 hours and pay Mr. Warman’s expenses of $500 incurred to date no later than 15 calendar days from this email, then Mr. Warman is prepared to not proceed with the libel action against you.
 
I wrote Saikaley back confirming that I would immediately attend to fulfilling all the demands stated in his initial letter and that I would send the $500.00 blood money before the allotted time period ended.
Following that I sent out an appeal to my list asking for financial help in raising the money to pay Warman. I’m extremely happy and grateful for the fact that help came in time to meet the deadline. I am still awaiting final confirmation from Warman’s lawyer that he received the postal money order that I sent off to him via registered snail mail. Once that is done then hopefully this will be the end of it.
Should anything further arise of a weird nature I will alert readers to it but as it now stands it looks like this episode in the history of Canada’s struggles to maintain the right to freedom of speech is now over.
My sincerest thanks on behalf of myself and my dear wife for all the support and financial assistance that was forthcoming. God bless you all.
Arthur Topham
Pub/Ed
The Radical Press
“Digging to the root of the issues since 1998”
——

 
PLEASE NOTE: Now that Section 13 is dead that still leaves me having to carry on with my own Section 319(2) criminal charge laid against me by Richard Warman and Harry Abrams. With the untimely death of my former lawyer Douglas Christie I am all the more in need of financial support in order to carry on the fight to retain my fundamental rights to publish on the Internet. 

The struggle to retain our inherent right to freedom of speech doesn’t come without costs both financially and otherwise. Out of necessity, I am forced to ask for financial assistance in this ongoing battle with the foreign Zionist lobbyist/censors who are determined to stop all freedom of expression in Canada. 
Being a ‘Senior Citizen’ on a very limited pension and having now been denied assistance by Legal Aid services here in B.C. I’m left in the unenviable position of having to rely solely upon donations from supporters to pay my legal and related expenses. 

 

I would ask readers to give serious consideration to helping out by either sending a donation via PayPal using either a PayPal account or a credit card or else sending a cheque or Money Order or cash to me via snail mail at the following postal address. Please don’t make the cheque out to “RadicalPress” as that account is no longer available to me.
Arthur Topham
4633 Barkerville Highway
Quesnel, B.C
Canada
V2J 6T8
To access my PayPal button please go to either the Home Page at http://www.radicalpress.com or my blog http://www.quesnelcariboosentinel.com The PayPal button is up on the right hand corner of the Home Page on either site. Feel free to click on it.
For Freedom of Speech, Justice for All,
Sincerely,
Arthur Topham
Pub/Ed
The Radical Press

Update in Topham “Hate” Case: Crown Refuses to Particularize Charges Against B.C. Writer

 

Update in Topham “Hate” Case: Crown Refuses to Particularize Charges Against B.C. Writer
 

Dear Reader,
Here is the latest report on my case with Canada’s censorship commissars (B’nai Brith Canada) and the Canadian court system. Please try to pass it along to all concerned with the issue of Freedom of Speech in Canada.
Also, as a special bonus treat for Det. Cst. Terry Wilson the leader of BC’s “Hate Crime Team”, I’m enclosing here a political cartoon featuring Terry’s mugshot and mindset, a grim reminder of where our national police force’s heads are at these days. Please feel free to pass that along to your sources on the net. I know that Terry just loves to have his picture in the media. 🙂
Sincerely
Arthur Topham Publisher & Editor The Radical Press “Digging to the root of the issues since 1998”
_____________________________________

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Regina v The Radical Press: LEGAL UPDATE #13
Dear Supporters of Free Speech and a free Internet,
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013, saw the return to the Quesnel provincial court house of myself and my dear and lovely wife for yet another appearance on the charge of “willfully promoting hatred against ‘people of the Jewish religion or ethnic group’ as written in Canada’s criminal code sec. 319(2).
At this stage of the proceedings it has become virtually impossible to know what to expect beforehand when attending them. The last time I went on May 16th I was greeted with a completely new strategy by the Crown when they informed the court they had decided to go for a “direct indictment” rather than have the case unfold in a normal manner by allowing me to present evidence at a “preliminary inquiry” in order to determine whether or not the Crown actually had sufficient and viable evidence to warrant proceeding to a trial. 
Crown told the court that they were awaiting a decision by the B.C. Attorney General’s office that would confirm this and that they expected it would happen prior to May 28th. 
Well, as we all know about the best laid plans of mice and men, that decision by the AG’s office didn’t manifest and so the Crown told Judge Morgan that they would have to postpone that part of the proceedings until a later date at which time they fully expected that the Attorney General’s office would make up its mind one way or another.
Judge Morgan, the Honourable Judge who has been attending to my case from the beginning and who was absent on the previous court appearance, looked over the documents that were awaiting him when he entered the court room in order to get the drift of what had taken place on May 16th. He noted that I had filed an application for particularization of the Crown’s disclosure material and in perusing the document he read out excerpts to the court wherein it was stated that because of the volume of materials (over 1000 pages) presented that it was virtually impossible for me to address what specific posts on my website the Crown deemed to be “hatred”.  After doing so he addressed the Crown prosecutor, Jennifer Johnston, and asked her what she had to say about it.
The Crown’s response was rather vociferous and protracted, the main thrust of the argument being that the Crown was not legally bound in any way, shape or form, to divulge to the defendant the specifics of what posts they intended to argue were the ones they felt might prove to a court of law that I was guilty of the said offence. In the words of Crown prosecutor Jennifer Johnston, ” There is no case law anywhere” that says they are bound to do so. 
Crown then further worded its argument to the effect that by doing so they would be giving away to the defendant their strategies and in saying that CC Johnston then proceeded to hand to the Judge a number of photocopied pages taken off my website that referred to an online book written by Elizabeth Dilling titled, The Jewish Religion: Its Influence Today. The document that Judge Morgan was presented with first was the Forward to Dilling’s book giving an overview of her various works and her experience in dealing with the negative influences that had come to bear upon America during the course of World War II and afterwards by Zionism. 
Judge Morgan quickly scanned the page and then, giving Crown counsel Johnston a rather quizzical look, asked her if this was the sort of thing that Crown was planning to present to the court as evidence?
CC Johnston then launched into a somewhat convoluted and forceful explanation bordering upon become a diatribe. She told the Judge that the article in question was an example of how the defendant’s website was presenting the writer as a credentialed and erudite researcher and writer when it fact she was really just another anti-Semitic hate monger (this was not stated but implied in her comments) using the excuse of communism to spread lies about the Jewish Talmud and that the Forward to her book might be compared to a sexual predator who, by sending out an email to someone online telling them about a wholesome family camping trip and inviting them to attend, by stealth and deception lures the innocent (and presumed) youth into meeting them so they can then violate them sexually!!!
It’s at times such as these that keeping a calm, straight face in the court room becomes extremely challenging. 
After her presentation Judge Morgan then stated that he could sympathize with the fact that there was such an abundance of disclosure and that I might well be overwhelmed by it. He said that he was unable to give me any legal advice but that he felt that I should consider bringing this matter up in my Rowbotham application as an illustration of why I felt it was vitally necessary to have counsel to represent me in the event of a trial.
With respect to the Rowbotham application the Judge asked me whether I had filed it and I told him that I had sent off the proper papers to the government but that I was awaiting further word as to whether or not Crown would get their “direct indictment” decision which was to have happened today. Earlier the Crown had informed the Judge of the letter which I had been sent from the legal department for the AG’s office instructing me to either file a Rowbotham application for a counsel to represent me at a preliminary enquiry or to wait and file an application in the event of a trial. I told Judge Morgan that I had gone no further with the application pending today’s appearance because I didn’t know which way the Crown was going with the case. He appeared to have no problem understanding what I was saying. 
Judge Morgan then decided that it was not the time make any decisions regarding any of the matters that came up and that he would, once again, have to postpone the case to a later date when Crown felt that they would know for certain whether a direct indictment was happening or not. Crown concurred with him and suggested that they might know better by the end of June or the early part of July, 2013. At that point the Judge instructed me to go to the office next to the court room after adjournment and I would be given the exact date when I was to return.
Following his instructions to me I asked the Judge if I might speak. He gave his permission and I then told him that I wished to register a strong objection to the manner in which Crown was continually making reference to Radical Press and comparing the website to either cases of child pornography or else, as in today’s arguments, cases of sexual abuse. I told the Judge that I felt this was highly unfair and prejudicial and that there was no comparison to what I publish and what the Crown was attempting always equate with those two references. The Judge then said that my objection was registered and following that the case was adjourned to Tuesday, July 9th, 2013 at 1:30 pm.
—-
PLEASE NOTE: More than ever, now that my former lawyer Douglas Christie has died, I am dependent upon financial help to carry on. 
The struggle to retain our inherent right to freedom of speech doesn’t come without costs both financially and otherwise. Out of necessity, I am forced to ask for financial assistance in this ongoing battle with the foreign Zionist lobbyist/censors who are determined to stop all freedom of expression in Canada. 
Being a ‘Senior Citizen’ on a very limited pension and having now been denied assistance by Legal Aid services here in B.C. I’m left in the unenviable position of having to rely solely upon donations from supporters to pay my legal and related expenses. 

 

I would ask readers to give serious consideration to helping out by either sending a donation via PayPal using either a PayPal account or a credit card or else sending a cheque or Money Order or cash to me via snail mail at the following postal address. Please don’t make the cheque out to “RadicalPress” as that account is no longer available to me.
Arthur Topham
4633 Barkerville Highway
Quesnel, B.C
Canada
V2J 6T8
To access my PayPal button please go to either the Home Page at http://www.radicalpress.com or my blog http://www.quesnelcariboosentinel.com The PayPal button is up on the right hand corner of the Home Page on either site. Feel free to click on it.
For Freedom of Speech, Justice for All,
Sincerely,
Arthur Topham
Pub/Ed
The Radical Press
 

Crown Threatens to Deny Arthur Topham a Preliminary Hearing and Proceed by Direct Indictment

Crown Threatens to Deny Arthur Topham a Preliminary Hearing and Proceed by Direct Indictment
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May 16th, 2013
Dear Free Speech Advocates and Radical Press Supporters,
Today, May 16th, 2013, marks the first anniversary of my arrest and incarceration last May 16th, 2012 when Det. Cst. Terry Wilson and the BC “Hate Crime Team” flew up from Vancouver and along with a crew of approximately 14 police officers, stopped my vehicle containing myself and my wife while on route to Prince George on a business trip and charged me under the criminal code of Canada with a sec. 319(2) “Hate Crime”. I was read my rights, arrested, handcuffed and carted off to the Quesnel jail where I spend the rest of the day in a cell while Det. Wilson’s team awaited an illegal search warrant and then entered my home and stole all of my computers and electronic files as well as my firearms which are my only means of defense well outside of any RCMP range of immediate help in case of an emergency.
Coincidentally today was also the latest in a protracted series of court appearances that began back on October 9th, 2012. Today’s menu of misfeasance included a new item that suddenly popped up when I was supposed to be appearing before the provincial judge to discuss my last application to the court requesting particularization of the disclosure material submitted by the Crown. Those who have been following these legal updates will be aware of what that was all about and for anyone new interested in finding out they can go to Legal Update #1 at the following url and review it there. That application plus setting a date for a preliminary inquiry and an update on my Rowbotham application were all scheduled for the 16th. For some unknown reason Judge Morgan who normally hears my case was unable to be there and  another out of town female judge was sitting in for him.
The judge, after looking over the menu, decided that she would not attempt to deal with the application for particularization and told the Crown that she would postpone that until May 28th, 2013 when Judge Morgan would be in attendance as he had been dealing with it and knew much more about the case. Seeing that I was without counsel the judge, having looked at my Rowbotham application and noted that it had all be prepared properly and had been accepted, then took the time to explain to me how and why the Rowbotham application works and when a person can file one. For obvious reasons I knew how it worked as I had already prepared the document awhile go but I stood quietly and listened to her review the process. She then explained that if I wished to have counsel prior to the planned preliminary enquiry that I would have to apply beforehand but that if, after the preliminary enquiry, it was determined that the case would proceed to trial then I would have to file a second Rowbotham application in order to obtain another counsel to represent me in the trial. 
I had received a package of material from the Ministry of Justice Legal Services Branch on May 11th in response to my Notice of Application and Affidavit which I had served on the AGBC April 23, 2013. In it Keith Evans, legal counsel for the Attorney General of British Columbia (AGBC), explained all the details of how to go about filling in the additionally required documents related to the application and also informing me that I would have to decide beforehand whether or not I wished to have the application relate to obtaining counsel for the preliminary enquiry or the pending trial or both. If both then I would have to submit two separate applications. 
At this point I asked the honourable judge if I might ask her a question and she consented. I wanted clarification as to primary purpose of holding a preliminary enquiry and I asked the judge if, in fact, the preliminary enquiry was meant to determine whether or not the Crown had a strong enough case to warrant going to trial. She answered in the affirmative saying yes, that was the main reason for conducting such a procedure. I said thank you for explaining that.
It was around this point in the proceedings that Crown counsel Jennifer Johnston brought up the new item mentioned earlier. She informed the judge that she had just recently received word from Det. Wilson’s “E-Division” office in Surrey, B.C. that additional information had gathered and was being sent to Crown and that the Attorney General’s office was now planning to take the unusual step of attempting to circumvent my right to a preliminary enquiry by going for what the Crown termed “a Direct Indictment”, a process by which I would be forced to go to trial without having the opportunity to argue against the Crown’s charges as laid out in the original Indictment of November 5th, 2012. 
Crown counsel Johnston then informed the judge that no final decision had been made as of today but that she expected the Attorney General’s office would have their final decree in place prior to the next court appearance this coming May 28th, 2013. At this point Cst. Wilson was sending the additional to Crown via a thumb drive or memory stick and that I would also be receiving a copy of whatever new “evidence” they had come up with in their “ongoing investigation”.
All that covered the judge then looked at me. I gave her a sort of dazed and confused look and she, half-smiling and half-laughing, apologized for all the apparent incertitude and then did her best to provide me with a general overview of what had transpired, ended by saying that everything would be postponed until the return of Judge Morgan on May 28th, 2013. 
—–
[Editorial comment: The new item of going for a Direct Indictment on the part of the Attorney General’s office still remains a mystery to me at this point. They are obviously not happy with my wanting to have a preliminary enquiry which is standard procedure in most cases. They are also planning to introduce additional evidence or information into the case. Where would that evidence come from? One can only assume that it comes from whatever additional posts I have been making on the RadicalPress.com website. Why additional evidence in the first place? Didn’t they feel they had enough already? 
Feedback on these issues is always appreciated. 
As Walt Disney used to say at the end of his productions, “Stay Tune Folks!“]
For Justice and Freedom of Speech for Everyone Everywhere, Arthur Topham Publisher & Editor The Radical Press “Digging to the root of the issues since 1998”
———
PLEASE NOTE: More than ever, now that my former lawyer Douglas Christie has died, I am dependent upon financial help to carry on. 
The struggle to retain our inherent right to freedom of speech doesn’t come without costs both financially and otherwise. Out of necessity, I am forced to ask for financial assistance in this ongoing battle with the foreign Zionist lobbyist/censors who are determined to stop all freedom of expression in Canada. 
Being a ‘Senior Citizen’ on a very limited pension and having now been denied assistance by Legal Aid services here in B.C. I’m left in the unenviable position of having to rely solely upon donations from supporters to pay my legal and related expenses. 

 

I would ask readers to give serious consideration to helping out by either sending a donation via PayPal using either a PayPal account or a credit card or else sending a cheque or Money Order or cash to me via snail mail at the following postal address. Please don’t make the cheque out to “RadicalPress” as that account is no longer available to me.
Arthur Topham
4633 Barkerville Highway
Quesnel, B.C
Canada
V2J 6T8
To access my PayPal button please go to either the Home Page at http://www.radicalpress.com or my blog http://www.quesnelcariboosentinel.com The PayPal button is up on the right hand corner of the Home Page on either site. Feel free to click on it.
For Freedom of Speech, Justice for All,
Sincerely,
Arthur Topham
Pub/Ed
The Radical Press

Setback for Censorship: B.C. Judge Refuses to Gag Dissident Topham Before “Hate” Trial

Setback for Censorship: B.C. Judge Refuses to Gag Dissident Arthur Topham Before “Hate” Trial
Radical Press Legal Update #8
January 4, 2012

Dear Supporters of Freedom of Speech,
January 3, 2013 was a good day in B.C. and across the nation for those who have taken up metaphorical arms in defence of Canada’s fundamental right to freedom of speech on the Internet.
Here in B.C. and out in Ontario those battling against the forces of media censorship and repression were, in both cases, successful in their efforts and thus, for once, I have only positive news to report.
During the last court appearance in December presiding Judge Church, after hearing arguments from both the Crown and Defence regarding the Crown’s rather strident and persistent effort to reimpose the original bail conditions that were placed on me by Cst. Terry Wilson of the BC HATE CRIME TEAM back on May 16, 2012, reserved her judgement on the issue until January 3, 2013.
My lawyer Doug Christie attended by telephone from Victoria, B.C. and  my wife  and I were in the Quesnel Court room at 1:30 p.m. to hear Judge Church’s decision.
The Judge first gave an overview of the Crown’s arguments and those of Defence lawyer Mr. Christie before presenting her own position on the issue. According to Judge Church the Crown’s basic argument was that while I had legally resumed publishing on RadicalPress.com on November 2, 2012 I was still publishing material that the Crown felt was of the same calibre as that originally complained of by Harry Abrams and Richard Warman. To back up Crown’s argument Crown counsel Jennifer Johnston had submitted to Judge Church on December 19, 2012 a couple of screen shots taken from the radicalpress.com website that had supposed controversial headings which CC Johnston felt were significant enough that they warranted reinstating the original draconian restrictions that Cst Terry Wilson had unilaterally saddled me with on the day of my arrest in May.
Having considered these apparently pithy examples of willful promotion of hatred against “people of the Jewish religion or ethnic group”  Judge Church went on to say that while the screen shots may have (as Crown was alleging), indicated an “undertone” of hatred toward those of the Jewish faith, Crown had not gone so far as to state that the captured text was in fact hateful. Furthermore, Crown had not disclosed to Judge Church any additional corroborating information pertaining to the screen shots in question which Crown was alleging were displaying such sentiments and so, according to the Judge, she had no way of determining whether or not the screen shots or the accompanying articles were, in fact, contravening sec. 319(2) of the CC of Canada.
Judge Church then went on to review Defence council Doug Christie’s arguments which basically stated Crown was attempting to pre-judge the published materials before a trial was held to determine whether or not they were in truth a contravention of sec. 319(2). It was also established that I am, in fact, a publisher and that under Canada’s constitution I have the right to publish articles deemed to be of interest to the general public and until such time that said articles are proven in a court of law to have contravened Canada’s hate crime legislation that my right to publish should not be pre-emptively prohibited simply because of allegations of wrong doing by those who feel particular materials are wilfully promoting hatred toward an ethnic minority. Throughout the course of her comments the Judge referred to the cases cited by both Crown and Defence during the previous hearing on December 19, 2012.
Another issue that had come up on December 19, 2012 was that of Disclosure. The Crown had then argued that they were withholding disclosure from my attorney because of a breach of protocol that had occurred back in the summer when a confidential document released to Doug Christie was later found to have been posted on a third party website (FreeDominion.ca). The Judge went on to describe the event which had to do with what is called a “Warned Statement” which was a digitally recorded conversation between myself and the arresting officer Cst Terry Wilson on the day of my arrest. The Crown alleged that the breach (committed by me due to ignorance of the nature of the document) posed a serious threat to the safety of the two complainants in the case Warman and Abrams and for that reason Crown had filed a further application demanding that my lawyer not provide me with any further disclosure because I might intentionally publish it or give it to someone else who might publish it and in the process endanger the complainants. CC Johnston had cited the case of the Basi-Virk Trial involving the BC Rail/BC Liberal government scandal as reasoning for her allegations.
The Judge then went on to state that the case law cited by Crown in fact dealt with examples where secondary parties who were testifying may have been at risk but that in my case it was information which I personally had given to Cst. Terry Wilson and was, as my lawyer had stated, not of the same nature and certainly did not pose any direct threat to either of the two individuals who had complained to the RCMP. As such the Judge did not feel that the Crown’s argument that Mr. Christie be restricted in sharing disclosure with me was valid.
Judge Church also considered Doug Christie’s counter argument that it would be an unreasonable and onerous position to be placed in were he not allowed to share the information in any disclosure with his client unless I was under his direct supervision given the fact that he was in Victoria and I was 700 km away in Quesnel. Mr. Christie had indicated on December 19, 2012 that he and his client would be more than willing to sign an undertaking prohibiting me from disclosing any further confidential information in order to insure that no such breach occurred a second time. The Judge was able to see the logic of Mr. Christie’s arguments while at the same time dismissing Crown’s position that the breach in question could have endangered the two complainants and went on to say that while she would not be imposing the two original conditions that prohibited me from publishing on radicalpress.com or writing articles for publication wherever I so chose she would be issuing an order that would make it illegal for me republish any further disclosure. At this point she also stating she would not impose upon Mr. Christie the condition that he be in attendance whenever disclosing confidential documents to me.
Having read out her decision regarding the matters at hand the Judge reinstated the new bail conditions and asked me if I understood them. I acknowledged that I did. As such here are the new bail conditions which I am now to legally abide by:
CONDITION ONE: You shall keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
CONDITION TWO: You shall have no contact or communication, directly or indirectly, with Richard Warman or Harry Abrams except as follows: (a) while in attendance at court; (b) through legal counsel.
CONDITION THREE: You shall not possess any weapon as defined in Section 2 of the criminal Code except for purposes directly related to your employment.
CONDITION FOUR: You shall not distribute, circulate or share all or any part of the Crown disclosure material with any person or organization.
CONDITION FIVE: You shall not publish or post all or any part of the Crown disclosure material on any internet site that can be read by the general public.
Having listened to the conditions of the new undertaking and given my consent to obey them the Judge then concluded the hearing. My wife and I then went for coffee and returned later to the Court Registry office where the undertaking was waiting for my signature. After signing it and obtaining a copy we left the building.
Included in the new undertaking was a notice stating that I would appear in court on April 2, 2013 at 1:30 pm PT in Quesnel for the preliminary hearing.
For some unknown reason Crown counsel Jennifer Johnston was absent from the court room and another assistant Crown counsel was sitting in for her.
So by all indications it looks like I will finally have some temporary respite from all the legal machinations that have been occurring over the past three months and I can focus on raising funds and adding further information to radicalpress.com that will assist others in understanding both the importance of this case and why it is that Canadians must sit up and pay much more attention to what these foreign lobbyists are doing to wreck our inherent right to freedom of expression and censor any and debate that focuses on the criminal and racist actions of the state of Israel and its dangerous and supremacist ideology known as Zionism.
Sincerely
Arthur Topham Publisher & Editor The Radical Press “Digging to the root of the issues since 1998”
————————————————————
NOTE: The struggle to retain our inherent right to freedom of speech doesn’t come without costs both financially and otherwise. Out of necessity, I am forced to ask for financial assistance in this ongoing battle with the foreign interest censors who are determined to stop all freedom of expression in Canada. Due to the fact that the Crown is refusing to give the required disclosure to my lawyer I am not able to apply for legal aid. This leaves me in the unenviable position of having to rely solely upon donations to pay for my legal expenses.
As of January 3, 2013 there are additional costs to those already incurred that now stand at $5,222.79 still owing on Mr. Christie’s account. Given my minimal monthly pension of approximately $1400.00 out of which I must pay my mortgage and utilities and insurance on home and vehicles (this doesn’t cover additional costs for fuel and food) which come to approximately $1200.00 one can see that it’s virtually impossible for me to cover these expenses without further assistance from supporters.
As such I would once again implore readers to give serious consideration to helping me out by either sending a donation via PayPal using either a PayPal account or a credit card or else sending a cheque or Money Order or cash to me via snail mail at the following postal address. Cash of course also works. Please don’t make the cheque out to “RadicalPress” as that account is no longer available to me.
Arthur Topham 4633 Barkerville Highway Quesnel, B.C. Canada V2J 6T8
To access my PayPal button please go to either the Home Page at http://www.radicalpress.com or my blog http://www.quesnelcariboosentinel.com The PayPal button is up on the right hand corner of the Home Page on either site. Feel free to click on it.
Sincerely,
Arthur Topham Pub/Ed The Radical Press

Now, the Thought Police Are After Ezra Levant for Criticisms of Gypsies

Now, the Thought Police Are After Ezra Levant for Criticisms of Gypsies

“Hate laws” exist to shield privileged groups from criticism and to shut down or stifle debate on key topics, like immigration. Beginning in the 1930s, the Canadian Jewish Congress began lobbying mightily for “hate” laws. Finally, in 1970, thanks to socialist Pierre Trudeau, they succeeded and we got Canada’s notorious “hate law” — Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code.

The latest potential victim is Ezra Levant, himself Jewish but no admirer of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Levant is a lawyer, writer and news commentator on Sun News television.

The delightful thing about “hate laws” is that a privileged minority can holler “hate” and now their critic becomes the object of attack. It’s an old sleazy lawyer’s trick: accuse the accuser. The neat thing is, by whooping up this noise about “hate”. the privilege group avoids having to answer or refute the criticism or deal with unflattering facts because the mere mention of these facts is “hate.”.

The Toronto Star (October 24, 2012) reported:” A complaint about broadcaster Ezra Levant’s rant that likened Gypsies to ‘swindlers’ has prompted a Toronto police investigation. Toronto’s Roma Community Centre, which has called the rant ‘vertly racist, prejudicial, and demeaning,’ lodged the complaint with police on Oct. 11.
Const. Wendy Drummond confirmed Toronto police had received the complaint and were investigating the comments aired on Levant’s Sun News show, The Source, on Sept. 5.

An Oct. 15 statement from Roma Community Centre executive director Gina Csányi-Robah described Levant’s comments as “nearly nine minutes of on-air racist hate-speech targeting our community.” Early in Levant’s segment, “The Jew vs. the Gypsies,” he likened Gypsies with ‘swindlers,’ and said ‘too many have come here as false refugees.’ Levant attempted to qualify his comments by saying politically correct terms are being used to obscure the truth.

Csányi-Robah said called the comments “one of the longest and most sustained on-air broadcasts of hate-speech against any community in Canada that we’ve witnessed since our organization was established in 1997.”

Levant argued: “‘These are gypsies,’ he tells us, ‘a culture synonymous with swindlers. The phrase gypsy and cheater have been so interchangeable historically that the word has entered the English language as a verb: he gypped me. Well the gypsies have gypped us. Too many have come here as false refugees. And they come here to gyp us again and rob us blind as they have done in Europe for centuries. . . They’re gypsies. And one of the central characteristics of that culture is that their chief economy is theft and begging.” (Toronto Star, September 15, 2012)

Forget all the fog about “hate”: the only relevant question is whether what Levant said was true. Do Gypsy “refugees” — not all, of course — commit many crimes, especially theft and shoplifting? Even though our press tends to downplay immigrant crimes, or, as in a recant television news story about Gypsy gangs descending on stores to shoplift that identified the bizarrely dressed perpetrators as dressed in Eastern European costumes, there have been many reports of considerable criminality among the Gypsy “refugee” claimants, many who seem to hit the ground thieving not long after they land.

Even Bernie Farber former CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, in a feverish denunciation of Ezra Levant, reluctantly admitted: “There will always be those who claim the Roma engage in lawlessness and crime. And in Europe, statistics do demonstrate a significant increase in theft by those living in Roma encampments. These numbers have been used by French authorities to justify large scale deportations of Roma.|” (National Post, September 25, 2012)

“The Canadian Border Services Agency is asleep at the wheel allowing more than 400 alleged Roma gypsies – many of whom have extensive criminal records – into the country and specifically the GTA, critics say.
This week, the Durham Regional Police Service confirmed they had arrested 34 people and laid 263 charges in the largest investigation of its kind in the region,” CNEWS reported (September 8, 2012)

.

“Former Conservative MPP Toni Skarica, an Ontario Crown Attorney who, speaking at a parliamentary committee, said Roma refugees from Hungary come to Canada because ‘we have the most generous welfare package for refugees in the world. That’s why they’re coming here, because they get the best deal here.’” (Toronto Star, September 15, 2012)

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has repeatedly denounced the wholesale welfare scamming being perpetrated by many Gypsy “refugee” claimants. And, as to Ezra Levant’s charge that many are phoney refugee claimants, that is the conclusion of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, which rejects the overwhelming number of claims. Think about it. Hungary is a democratic country and part of the European Union. If Gypsies felt persecuted in Hungary, they could move, let’s say to Germany. The rub is that, while they get welfare and many social benefits including housing in Hungary, most other European countries would require them to work. They would not get welfare. So, hey, head to Pollyanna Canada, say the magic “:refugee” word, scarf up welfare and other social services and maybe do a little bit of thieving on the side.

A healthy nation would not rely on political police to investigate “hate.” We should have a full debate. Let the complaining Gypsy leader Gina Csányi-Robah offer evidence that her people are not disproportionately involved in shoplifting Perhaps, she can bring forth evidence that the shoplifting is really being perpetrated by clever Icelanders in dark face, dressed up in “Eastern European folk costumes.”

A full 98 per cent of Gypsy refugee claims worldwide end up in Canada and the vast majority of these claims are abandoned or rejected.

The government is bringing in new legislation to limit Gypsy “refugee” claims. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney ” hopes to create a list of countries that generally don’t produce refugees, to make it easier for the Canada Border Services Agency to separate unfounded refugee claims from those that have merit. Hungary, where a bulk of Roma refugee claims come from – and from where the vast majority are abandoned, withdrawn or rejected – would be on that list. ‘Countries whose nationals have an acceptance rate of 25% or less, or where 60% or more of claimants from a country have abandoned or withdrawn their claims … would be subject to designation,’ he said.” (CNEWS, October 16, 2012).

Canadians seem to approve. They were asked: “Do you think the federal government should attempt to limit Roma refugee claims?”

An overwhelming 85.7% said yes; 10% said no; and 4% were not sure.”? (CNEWS, October 16, 2012).

Judge Ponders Sending Dissident to Prison for Not Shutting Down His Website

Judge Ponders Sending Dissident to Prison for Not Shutting Down His Website

VANCOUVER. October 10, 2012. A controversial website http://nspcanada.nfshost.com. may soon disappear and many postings by a Regina university lecturer may be removed from STORMFRONT, if Canada’s thought control advocates get their way.

A federal judge was asked to jail Internet dissident and webmaster Terry Tremaine for months or until he breaks and removes a controversial website. After a tense morning of demands for the jailing of a man who has posted politically incorrect opinions on the Internet and equally strong submissions by his lawyer Douglas Christie decrying censorship and bullying by the state, Judge Sean Harrington adjourned court and reserved judgement in Mr. Tremaine’s contempt of court hearing here.

Representing the Canadian Human Rights Commission Daniel Poulin urged an 85 day term of incarceration for Mr. Tremaine or until “the original material found to be offensive” under Sec. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (now repealed by the House of Commons) is removed. He argued that leaving the postings complained of was violating a Human Rights Tribunal’s order to “cease and desist.” In a further demand that had Internet savvy listeners shaking their heads, he insisted that Mr. Tremaine must remove his signature block from his more than 3,000 posting on Stormfront, where he posted under the name “mathdoktor99” because it provides the web address of his website. He then seemed to go further and said: “The only way to ensure the material is not repeated is to remove the website,” even though it was acknowledged there were several thousands of postings and audio and musical items, only a few of which formed the basis of the 2005 complaint by Richard Warman.

Mr. Poulin charged that Mr. Tremaine “knew he was ignoring the cease and desist order and he did so purposefully.” So, in Mr. Poulin’s submission, Mr. Tremaine is to be ordered to take down his website and write to STORMFRONT to remove material deemed offensive in the Tribunal’s order.

How, the judge asked, is Mr. Tremaine to “purge his contempt and remove material from the Internet” if he is in jail?

“He can have his lawyer do it or hire a consultant,” Mr. Poulin shot back.

Further, “if he fails to remove the website after 85 days, he must transfer the website to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. We’ll remove it and make it a blank page.” And then the final kick at Mr. Tremaine, who was rendered penniless after Richard Warman complained to the University of Saskatchewan long before the initial complaint was adjudicated and cost Mr. Tremaine his job. “While we recognize Mr. Tremaine’s ability to pay is limited, we seek costs.”

Richard Warman who has hounded Mr. Tremaine with the original human rights complaint, a complaint to his employer, a criminal code Sec. 319 “hate law” complaint, and at least three contempt of court complaints rose to make his sentencing submissions.

Warman demanded a jail term of three to six months, even if Mr. Tremaine removes the website. “Deterrence and denunciation are important, given the five year extensive period of contempt. I’d be concerned if he was let out as soon as he purged his contempt,” Mr. Warman continued.

Then, warming to his subject, he harrumphed: “There is the self-evident seriousness of Mr. Tremaine’s trying to alienate control of his site. It boggles the mind to think of anything so contemptuous of the court.” He referred to the startling revelation in court the previous day that Mr. Tremaine was arranging to sell his website to someone in the U.S., which is not bound by Canada’s police state censorship laws. The judge issued an order preventing him from communicating the password to anyone else.

However, Judge Harrington interjected, “there is no law preventing him from selling his website.”

Warman also wanted the order to direct Terry Tremaine to write to archive.org to ask that their copy of his site be removed.

Mr. Warman, too, said he was seeking costs, even though much of his trip to Vancouver would have been paid for by the Commission which called him as a witness. “You’re here as a complainant who is also a solicitor,” the judge noted.

“I have a day job and have foregone that revenue and I practise also as a solicitor and have foregone that income. [Mr. Tremaine’s] inability to pay is not a reason for not awarding costs.

Mr. Warman, too, didn’t want the large number of innocuous postings on Terry Tremaine’s website to remain: “You’ll recognize the dangers of sifting the wheat from the chaff on the nspc website. It is much better to close it entirely. If we don’t, we’ll be back here again soon and this matter will never end.

Acting for Terry Tremaine Douglas Christie, who is also general counsel for the Canadian Free Speech League, pointed out that, since Marc Lemire won his tribunal case and got Sec. 13 declared effectively unconstitutional, until a federal judge upheld the law, but stripped of penalties, that the sky had not fallen. There were no serious adverse consequences. That judge’s decision may well be appealed. The Senate may soon pass the repeal of Sec. 13 and the Supreme Court decision on Whatcott is eagerly awaited. This case challenged the power of human rights commissions to restrict free expression. He urged the judge to delay sentencing until these decisions are in. “Parliament has already determined that this material is not illegal,” he said.

He reflected on the bizarre ruling of the Federal Court of Appeal: “Now you are liable for contempt of an order even before you are informed of the order.”

“Mr. Tremaine’s right to free speech is important. His freedom to speak is your freedom and mine as well.”

In a comment that would draw a sharp rebuke from Richard Warman and a threat to complain to the Law Society of British Columbia, Mr. Christie said: “Mr. Warman has made a career out of shooting cripples,” as a figure of speech. His victims are “people who are marginal.” Some, like Terry Tremaine, end up in mental hospitals. “Mr. Warman now wants costs assessed against a man who cannot even hold a janitor’s job. At the behest of Mr. Warman, he was prosecuted under the Criminal Code.” And all this, said Mr. Christie, “to eliminate a political ideology Mr. Warman does not agree with.”

“Tolerance,” Mr. Christie reminded the court, “is best as a virtue when it is practised rather than preached.”

“Is there an order for Mr. Tremaine not to sell his website to some American who wants it? What my friends really need is to abolish the 1st Amendment. My friends hunt down ideas they do not like. They want to add ‘remove’ if the order’s ‘cease and desist’ doesn’t mean that.”

He pointed out that a recent Supreme Court decision authored by Madam Justice Rosalie Abella held that a link is not libel.” Mr. Tremaine’s signature block on STORMFRONT.org is just a link and should not be ordered removed.

“My friends want the nspc website shut down so that Mr. Tremaine cannot be known. The objective is to eliminate thoughts.”

Mr. Warman, he argued, “didn’t have to be here. He’s a witness, counsel and plaintiff. He’s a voluntary participant. Now he wants costs which will haunt Terry Tremaine for life. He should not be entitled to costs.”

“There’s nothing illegal or immoral if the website is sold to an American. We don’t yet police the world. Unlike Canada, free speech really means something in the U.S.” He cited the case of a recent anti-Moslem video which sparked violence, riots and murder in the Middle East. Yet, no serious politician in the U.S. suggested banning it.

“Is it contempt of court to render yourself non-compliant” by trying to sell the website?” he asked.

“Mr. Warman’s proposal to put Terry Tremaine’s ideas down the memory hole is like most totalitarian states in the world.”

The clumsily worded human rights tribunal order enjoined Mr. Tremaine from “telephonic” communication. He did not engage in “telephonic” communication in the period in question: February – December, 2007, Mr. Christie said. “It is legitimate to communicate what is not specifically prohibited,” he added.

Mr. Christie denounced Mr. Warman’s “draconian, systematic totalitarian treatment of Terry Tremaine. He deprived him of his job, drove him into a mental hospital, refused an apology (which would have ended the human rights complaint in 2006) and kept him in litigation for years. Mr. Warman is a one-man anti-Nazi brigade.”

Urging a delay in handing down a judgement, Mr. Christie said: “Sec. 13 is on its way out. It won’t be around in a year. Terry Tremaine is not a bad man, He may have some bad ideas but he also has some good ideas that may benefit humanity.”

Concluding, Mr. Christie said: “Many people have suffered from these Warman complaints. Terry Tremaine has suffered well and truly enough since 2005. There is no need to make him suffer further.”

Judge Harrington reserved judgement.

NEWMARKET, July 13, 2012. It was certainly a “Black Friday” for freedom of dissent in Canada today. One observer wondered whether this was Pnom Penh or Newmarket,. Late this afternoon in an almost deserted courthouse, after a gruelling seven hours of delays, Judge Kelly Wright sentenced letter writer Brad Love to 18 months in prison. Furthermore, “Mr. Love is to refrain from any political speech or commentary to any media outlet, political, cultural or religious group or organization, or police organization, except with the express written permission of a political or religious organization” that welcomes him as a member or associate and with the permission of his probation officer.

The 52-year old critic of Zionism and massive Third World immigration is, thus, effectively silenced — no letters-to-the-editor, no letters to newspapers or provocative tweaks to police chiefs or politicians.In addition, Mr. Love was also enjoined from any communication, direct or indirect, with the Canadian Jewish Congress, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith, Hillel, and Robert Tiffin, the Vice-President of the York University Jewish Students Union. Mr. Love was found guilty of sending information packages to these four, having called them to receive permission.

In 2006, now retired Mr. Justice Hogg imposed three years of probation during which Mr. Love was forbidden to write to anybody, without their prior consent. In May, Judge Wright ruled that the Jewish groups in question had not given “informed” consent when they told Mr. Love, who had not identified himself in phone calls, that he could send them his written material.

In sentencing Mr. Love, Judge Wright tore a strip off this dissident who, over the past 20 years, has penned more than 10,000 letters to newspapers and public officials. The judge agreed with Crown Vogel’s submission that Mr. Love was so dedicated to his views that he cannot be rehabilitated. Previous “court orders,” Judge Wright read in a staccato voice, “have had no effect in curbing Mr. Love’s propensity to share his hateful and hurtful opinions.” His actions, she added, “were deliberate and intentional” in sending material “that was hateful and hurtful of the Jewish community and reflected his deep-seated racist beliefs.”

The Crown, in her arguments, made it clear that the political gagging of Mr. Love was her goal: “Mr. Love, in the Crown’s submission, in a unique offender.” She indicated that her goal was “to prevent” Mr. Love’s “views from hurting other people. We need to protect the public from hateful, scurrilous material.” And, so, he must be silenced.

Patrick Leckie, Mr. Love’s lawyer, argued that the material sent to the Jewish groups was essentially private communication and there had been no victim impact statement or proof of any harm done. He also noted that the Crown had not charged Mr. Love with “hate” for those mailings. He also pointed out, as the Crown had admitted, that there was little case law to guide the judge in sentencing.

Just before the judge sent the letter]-writing dissident off for another 18 months in prison — his original sentence when convicted in 2003 under Canada’s notorious “hate law” Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code — Mr. Love briefly addressed the court. He pointed to the seats in the courtroom, empty except for Mr. Love’s brother and two members of the Canadian Association for Free Expression, which has backed the outspoken dissident, and a young policeman waiting to slap the handcuffs on him. “Where are the people who claimed to have been hurt or offended by my letters?” he demanded. “They’ve never shown up in the three years of this trial.”

He also warned that his sentence “would have ramifications in limiting the freedoms of other people who come after me.”

The judge adopted almost to a word the Crown’s sentencing requests and, as she had all through the trial which had stretched over three years, rejected all of the defence’s submissions.

Mr. Love will be seeking bail and release pending an appeal of both the verdict and ferocious sentence and an appeal of a rejected constitutional challenge to Judge Hogg’s original “over broad” order, Mr. Love’s lawyer Patrick Leckie said outside the court. “There’s no way Superior Court will endorse the terms of Judge Hogg’s order,” or this order, he added.

The day’s proceedings were a measure of Ontario’s sclerotic court system. The sentencing had been set down in a dedicated courtroom for 10:00 a.m. However, various remands and other matters delayed the Love matter until 12:30. By 1:00, it was time for lunch. Back at 2:15. A further recess had to be called to locate documents the Crown should have had for the file. At 4:10 the judge announced she’d need 20 minutes to consider her verdict. Court resumed at 4:48 and Mr. Love soon after 5:00 p.m was carted off to the cells and political silence, just like his dissidents in Communist China.

Columnist Andrew Coyne Calls for End to “Hate Law”

Columnist Andrew Coyne Calls for End to “Hate Law”

For the third time in a week a major newspaper or columnist has called for the end of Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code, Canada’s notorious “hate law,” Now, that Sec. 13 (Internet censorship) of the Canadian Human Rights Act has been repealed by the House of Commons and is all but certain to pass the Senate, the remaining legal throttle on free speech on the Internet is the “hate law.” Today, the following excellent article by columnist Andrew Coyne appeared front page int he National Post (July 10, 2012) and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, among other outlets.

Last week, in reaction to publicity CAFE had put out about the Terry Tremaine Sec. 319 case, moving its way at a glacial pace through the courts in Regina, the National Post picked up the story. On July 4, columnist Marni Soupcoff wrote a column entitled “Tremaine’s platform for neo-Nazi views helpfully provided by Canada’s criminal code.” While gratuitously slagging Mr. Tremaine, Soupcoff said: “The real problem lies with section 319(2) of the Criminal Code, which makes “willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group” by “communicating statements, other than in private conversation” an offense punishable by prison time. The Supreme Court ruled in 1990 in the Keegstra case that the provision is constitutional. But the Tremaine case is reminding us that constitutionality doesn’t make a law sensible or desirable…..
The trouble starts once the government enters the equation, at the invitation of section 319(2), and sets itself up as the arbiter of whether Tremaine’s ideas are simply too offensive and disagreeable to legally abide. Suddenly, then, to counter this hefty power to subjectively vet a citizen’s speech and decide whether it should land him behind bars for a several years, the government forces itself into the position of having to provide Tremaine a far prettier platform than he’d ever have been able to achieve on his own.”

The next day, the National Post weighed in with an editorial questioning Sec. 319: “. However, he will now be treated to a media-publicized trial in a Canadian courtroom, in which he will be able to air his nasty views for the benefit of mainstream journalists.”

We can only hope that calls will continue and grow for Canada to be rid of this minority-inspired piece of censorship that would be more fitting in Red China or despotisms like Burma (or Myanmar, or whatever it’s calling itself this week.)

Paul Fromm

Director

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION

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