Thursday, January 31, 2008

Lib MP Keith Martin moves in favour of free speech

Thanks to Joanne for this post on MP Keith Martin's motion (M-446) to delete Section 13(1) of the Human Rights Act.

Bravo Keith!!

Keith Martin is my MP. I've always thought of him as a bit of an opportunistic weasel and whiner. He's run for the leadership of the Reform Party then He was a Reformer when it was a safe bet and when he later ran for the Alliance leadership was always quick to complain about his "unfair" opponents, grabbing the nearest microphone (usually the CBC) to whine. That he's no team player is epitomized by his shift jump to the Liberals - I thought they deserved him.

That said, he is VERY popular with his constituents and will be hard for anyone to beat no matter what party he runs for. Also in his favour is that he does stand up for his principles and will defend them courageously no matter how unpopular that may make him with his party. In this case, more power to him.

Anyway, I've sent him a congratulatory email thanking him for his HRA motion.

Regarding Section 13 of the HRA.

Update: Joanne's comment twigged a second thunk. Could this backfire? If the skids weren't sufficiently greased and support lined up it could easily fail. Then where does that leave us? With implicitly renewed "approval" from parliament, emboldened HRCs would be in an even stronger position to press a PC censorship agenda. That would be a big step backward. Then again I'm not sure how these private member's motion thingies work. So maybe I'm being unnecessarily paranoid.

More: Much more at Blazing Cat Fur (and), Mike Brock (with a long list of others).
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7 comments:

  1. Joanne (True Blue)January 31, 2008 at 1:10:00 PM PST

    I hope MP's from all parties see the need to push this motion forward. It is crucial to the health of our democracy.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2008 at 4:49:00 PM PST

    Joanne, your comment spurred a second thought and an update.

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  3. Joanne (True Blue)January 31, 2008 at 5:38:00 PM PST

    Well, that's a possibility JR, but I think if enough constituents contact their MP's, this motion could go forward. Also, the very fact that an MP has tabled the motion gives the process some credibility and hope for change.

    Stay optimistic. Never surrender! ;)

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  4. BlazingcatfurJanuary 31, 2008 at 5:53:00 PM PST

    Ugh what a thought, Martin's Folly we'll have to call it. Let's keep the pressure on and hope it passes.

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  5. JRJanuary 31, 2008 at 5:54:00 PM PST

    Right-O! Chin up! Press on! :+]

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  6. Joanne (True Blue)February 1, 2008 at 8:56:00 AM PST

    Right-O! Chin up! Press on! :+]

    lol! That's the attitude!

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  7. A Dog Named KyotoFebruary 2, 2008 at 2:50:00 PM PST

    I would not be too concerned if it fails to pass the first time. We'll just do like Quebec does with their referendums - keep bringing it back until it passes.

    Seriously, Martin's motion is a good start. It will likely take more than this, but it is a start.

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