{"id":281,"date":"2013-05-10T20:15:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-11T00:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2013-05-10T20:15:14","modified_gmt":"2013-05-11T00:15:14","slug":"emotional-farewell-for-free-speech-warrior-in-toronto-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"Emotional Farewell for Free Speech Warrior in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Emotional Farewell for Free Speech Warrior in <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Toronto<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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TORONTO.<\/strong> March 23, 2013<\/b>. Friends, clients, admirers and fellow free speech warriors going back to the two Zundel \u201cfalse news trials\u201d (1984 and 1988) gathered in Toronto today for a memorial to free speech lawyer Doug Christie who died of liver cancer in Victoria, March 11. Marc Lemire who assisted CAF\u00c9 in organizing this meeting, brought several interesting collages of photos of Doug Christie\u2019s life and cases, especially those in Toronto (Zundel, Finta, Lemire, etc.) Michelle Erstikaitis provided a portrait of Mr. Christie and a bouquet of flowers.<\/p>\n

Erich Holy of the German World Congress (Deutsche Welt Kongress<\/span>), a long-time admirer of Mr. Christie, said: \u201cDoug could cast a spell over an audience. We drew inspiration in the battle for free speech from him. \u2026 On behalf of the German World Congress, we honour Doug Christie\u2019s memory and extend our condolences to the family of this great man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nOne of Doug Christie\u2019s clients, a teacher persecuted and eventually relieved of his teaching position for expressing his religious and political views, especially opposition to Zionism, on his own time, spoke next. Malcolm Ross from Moncton, New Brunswick recalled: \u201cFor 10 years I was fighting and testifying as to my belief that Canada was a Christian nation, but that many of the Christian churches are enemies of our Race and our people.\u201d Mr. Ross hailed Doug Christie as a fellow traditional Christian, \u201cbut the Christianity we both shared was the masculine Christianity of the Crusades,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Recalling the Supreme Court hearing into the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission complaint against him, alleging that his views expressed outside the classroom created a \u201cpoisoned environment,\u201d Mr., Ross said \u201cthere were 23 lawyers, many of them Jews, versus two Scotsmen. Now, those are pretty good odds,\u201d he quipped. \u201cThen, I was sent away and told I couldn\u2019t assist Doug. So, then it was 23 to one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ross remembered one of the Supreme Court judges complaining: \u201cThis talk by Mr. Ross about the Kingship of Christ makes me very uncomfortable in a pluralistic society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Supreme Court voted 9 to 0 against me,\u201d Mr. Ross recalled. \u201cDoug said: \u2018We\u2019ll go to the United Nations.\u2019 The Canadian Government\u2019s brief was basically that of the Canadian Jewish Congress. We lost there 17-0.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazingly, Mr. Ross recounted, \u201cthe Supreme Court of Canada said even though they found no evidence that I had taught my beliefs in the classroom or that I had influenced anyone, still it seemed \u2018reasonable\u2019 for them to assume that I had contributed to a \u2018poisoned environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ross said that, in 1996, \u201cthe Supreme Court returned its decision on the Eve of Passover, a Wednesday. The Court usually releases decisions on Thursday. Keith Landy of the Canadian Jewish Congress said the date \u2018sent a message.\u2019 It was unusual because it was in the middle of the Christian Holy Week, when Christians remember the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious Resurrection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not defeated when we lose in court,\u201d the New Brunswick teacher told his hushed audience, \u201cbut only when we compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug Christie,\u201d he said, \u201cwas a righteous man with a heart of fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government of New Brunswick paid the personal lawyer of the complainant David Attis (Atlantic head of the Canadian Jewish Congress) $225,000. They paid my lawyer nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main witness against Malcolm Ross was David Attis\u2019s daughter. She had not attended the school where Mr. Ross taught nor had ever seen him. Still, she claimed that anti-Jewish taunts directed at her by several students should be laid at his feet. One boy called her names after she wrestled him to the ground and stuck two fingers into his eye with the goal of ripping out his eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug was a good friend. He enjoyed himself. Indeed, we were the only two people in that court in New Brunswick who seemed to be enjoying themselves,\u201d Mr. Ross recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug Christie had a passionate love of freedom and the Red Ensign,\u201d Canada\u2019s traditional flag, Mr. Ross concluded.<\/p>\n

Sydney White who lectures on Studies in Propaganda at the University of Toronto read a poem she\u2019d composed called \u201cCensored\u201d. In her introduction, she added: \u201cI have heard Doug Christie speak. Freedom of speech is the most important part of any democracy or republic,\u201d she said. \u201cCanada is becoming increasingly politically correct and factually incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc Lemire, the only victim to win a Sec. 13 (Internet censorship) case, and who is currently before the Federal Court of Appeals seeking to have Sec. 13 declared unconstitutional, said: \u201cI\u2019ve known Doug for 20 years. I first met him when I was 17. He was one of my heroes. The comments, even in some nasty articles in the press, show how many people loved and admired Doug.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug was great at cross-examination, like his cross-examination of government witness Karen Mock (of B\u2019nai Brith) in my case. He delivered a forceful summation, December 11, 2011, in my Sec. 13 case in Federal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Lemire recalled attending CAF\u00c9 meetings where Doug spoke years ago. \u201cHis comments about free speech first brought it alive in me what free speech really means.\u201d Mr. Lemire quoted Helen Keller\u2019s comment frequently quoted by Mr. Christie: \u201cI am only one, but I am one; I cannot do everything, but I still can do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug was aware of the awesome power of the state to crush people, people like Malcolm Ross. Doug made many trips to the Supreme Court of Canada. He would be alone facing many lawyers opposed to free speech. He\u2019d ask: \u2018Do each of these lawyers get the same amount of time as me?\u2019 And, when informed that they would, he\u2019d say with that wicked grim of his: \u2018That seems fair.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s \u2018state approved speech\u2019 and then there\u2019s \u2018free speech\u2019, Doug would say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe life of Doug Christie showed me that one person could make a difference. Doug Christie never refused to do what he could.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, to the enemies of freedom, Mr. Lemire sent the warning: \u201cEnjoy your happy dance. Your glee at Doug Christie\u2019s demise will be short-lived. The battle for freedom will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another co-organizer of the memorial, Christian Klein, Director of the Historical Society of Mecklenburg and Upper Canada, said: \u201cI am a spokesman for the German survivors of World War II. My group was expelled from Silesia. History has been falsified or only partially told. There has been practically nothing told of the forced expulsion of 16-million Germans or the bombing of German civilians or the German holocaust by bombing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very impressed Doug Christie the lawyer. He was often one alone against many. I was shocked as I was there in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and learned that truth was no defence,\u201d Mr. Klein added. \u201cWe must keep telling our account of real history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Klein, a talented musician, then sang, accompanying himself on his guitar, a German freedom song from the Napoleonic Wars \u2013 Thoughts Are Free.<\/p>\n

Die Gedanken sind frei, wer kann sie erraten,
\nsie fliegen vorbei wie n\u00e4chtliche Schatten.
\nKein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein J\u00e4ger erschie\u00dfen
\nmit Pulver und Blei: Die Gedanken sind frei!<\/p>\n

Ich denke was ich will und was mich begl\u00fccket,
\ndoch alles in der Still’, und wie es sich schicket.
\nMein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand verwehren,
\nes bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!<\/p>\n

Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
\ndas alles sind rein vergebliche Werke.
\nDenn meine Gedanken zerrei\u00dfen die Schranken
\nund Mauern entzwei: Die Gedanken sind frei!<\/p>\n

Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen absagen
\nund will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen.
\nMan kann ja im Herzen stets lachen und scherzen
\nund denken dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!<\/p>\n

Ich liebe den Wein, mein M\u00e4dchen vor allen,
\nsie tut mir allein am besten gefallen.
\nIch sitz nicht alleine bei einem Glas Weine,
\nmein M\u00e4dchen dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!<\/p>\n

Thoughts are free, who can guess them?
\nThey flee by like nocturnal shadows.
\nNo man can know them, no hunter can shoot them
\nwith powder and lead: Thoughts are free!<\/p>\n

I think what I want, and what delights me,
\nstill always reticent, and as it is suitable.
\nMy wish and desire, no one can deny me
\nand so it will always be: Thoughts are free!<\/p>\n

And if I am thrown into the darkest dungeon,
\nall this would be futile work,
\nbecause my thoughts tear all gates
\nand walls apart: Thoughts are free!<\/p>\n

So I will renounce my sorrows forever,
\nand never again will torture myself with whimsies.
\nIn one’s heart, one can always laugh and joke
\nand think at the same time: Thoughts are free!<\/p>\n

I love wine, and my girl even more,
\nOnly her I like best of all.
\nI’m not alone with my glass of wine,
\nmy girl is with me: Thoughts are free!<\/p>\n

Paul Fromm, Director of the Canadian Association for Free Expression, read a tribute to Doug Christie sent by Ottawa-based former diplomat Ian Macdonald.<\/p>\n

Mr. Fromm added: Doug Christie \u201cput others in the legal profession to shame. He didn’t just believe in a client’s right to a full and proper defence, he really did believe in freedom of speech: that freedom of expression is the gift you must give to your worst enemy, he told a CAFE meeting in Toronto, December 2, 2012. Many other lawyers lost that belief. Terry Tremaine, later one of Doug’s clients and another Richard Warman free speech victim, called on seven Regina law firms to represent him in a “judicial review” (appeal) against the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision finding him guilty of spreading “hate” on the Internet. Finding out that this was a controversial free speech case running headlong into political correctness, not a single Regina law firm would touch Mr. Tremaine’s case.<\/p>\n

Murderers, child molesters, rape-kidnap-murder perpetrators like Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, or more recently accused murderer and butcher Luka Magnotta, had no trouble finding counsel. The media and other bien pensants would praise their counsel as brave and creative lawyers. Yet, Doug Christie, who stood up for non-violent freethinkers assailed for having unpopular beliefs was often reviled in the press and in the legal profession. It will take a decade or two before the public appreciates what a legal giant and idealist it has lost,\u201d Mr. Fromm concluded.<\/p>\n

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Emotional Farewell for Free Speech Warrior in Toronto TORONTO. March 23, 2013. Friends, clients, admirers and fellow free speech warriors going back to the two Zundel \u201cfalse news trials\u201d (1984 and 1988) gathered in Toronto today for a memorial to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}