Tag Archives: public opinion

Solid Majority of Canadians Back Free Speech Even If It Offends Minorities

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Solid Majority of Canadians Back Free Speech Even If It Offends Minorities

 

For years, Canadians have been regaled by minority apologists and lobbyists insisting that we must curtail or restrict our comments if they offend privileged minorities. In the Whatcott case, the cultural Marxists on our Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Saskatchewan Human Rights Act which forbad speech that might expose “vulnerable minorities” to hatred or contempt.

 
Even some of the “good guys”, like the then Reform Party justice spokesman and future hardline Justice Minister Vic Toews, when approached about Bill C-36, the government’s “anti-terrorism” bill which turned control and censorship of the Internet over to the Canadian Human Rights Commission  (Sec. 13), said he’d be supporting the bill because ” you know, we Canadians don’t have unlimited free speech like the Americans.” That sounded a lot like saying: “I’m a cripple and damned proud of it.”
 
One of the biggest challenges we in the free speech movement have is to turn Canadians on to freedom, to make them hunger for liberty, and bristle at any attempts to silence them.
 
Thus, a recent Angus Reid poll is very good news: “The vast majority of Canadians support Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish incendiary cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammed, and most prioritize freedom of speech over fear of offending religious sensibilities, according to an Angus Reid  poll for the National Post released Monday.
 

The not-for-profit institute polled 1,525 people in February, just after al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists killed 11 people inside the newspaper’s Paris offices in January. A police officer was killed just outside.

The satirical magazine is known for its provocative and juvenile humour, often poking the religious and political sensibilities of its audience. Notably, it was known for publishing cartoons that depicted the Muslim prophet, an act that is considered highly offensive to many Muslims.“We may be united by the decision a magazine has take

Although the paper was notoriously controversial, fully 70% of Canadian respondents said that Charlie Hebdo was right to publish the cartoons that eventually led to the massacre. Further, Canadians overwhelmingly believe that freedom of speech is more important than kowtowing to religious sensibilities. By a ratio of five-to-one, respondents said they prioritized freedom of speech — at least to some degree — over respecting religious feeling.

However, respondents diverged markedly when asked whether they would have advised Canadian media outlets to republish the images. Only 56% said they would advise major local news outlets to publish the cartoons; the vast majority of media chose not to do so, with the exception of the Post and several French-Canadian news outlets.” (National Post, February 23, 2015)

Paul Fromm

Director

CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that went on sale shortly after the attacks on its Paris office

PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty ImagesThe French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that went on sale shortly after the attacks on its Paris office

  • http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/23/majority-of-canadians-support-charlie-hebdos-right-to-publish-cartoons-of-mohammed-poll-shows/