[van-announce] URGENT: Sexual orientation - "hate propaganda" Bill C-250 - Message from Svend Robinson

[Paul Browning]

Dear Friends, 

I am writing you to issue an urgent CALL TO ACTION, to request that you add 
your voice in support of my Private Member's Bill C-250, An Act to amend the 
Criminal Code, that seeks to add "sexual orientation" to the list of 
included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada. Currently the 
grounds included are race, religion, colour and ethnic origin. The House of 
Commons Justice Committee is currently studying this bill, after it received 
agreement in principle in the House last May with the support of all parties 
except the Canadian Alliance. The Committee will decide whether people who 
are victims of propaganda promoting hatred, violence or even genocide 
directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people should have equal 
protection under the Criminal Code. The next month will decide whether or 
not this bill becomes law. 
WE ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING THIS BILL because of the flood of e-mails and 
letters coming in to MPs from those who oppose the bill, mainly from the 
religious right. As well, Canadian Alliance MPs (who have voted against 
every bill that has ever come before the House to extend equality to gays 
and lesbians) are fanning the flames with outrageous attacks on the bill. 
They claim that the bill would make religious texts like the Bible illegal. 
This is absolutely false: both the Charter of Rights and the Criminal Code 
already protect freedom of religious expression. 
The Supreme Court of Canada has set a very tough test for 
prosecution of this offence. They ruled in the Keegstra case that "...the 
act to be targeted is the intentional fostering of hatred against particular 
members of our society, as opposed to any individual...hatred implies that 
those individuals are to be despised, scorned, denied respect and made 
subject to ill-treatment on the basis of group affiliation." As well, there 
can be no prosecution under this section without the personal approval of 
the Attorney General. As a senior researcher of the Library of Parliament 
wrote: "the design of the hate propaganda provisions set out in the Code, 
including a requirement of specific intent, the definition by the courts of 
what the promotion of hatred means, the special defences, and the 
requirement for the provincial Attorney General to consent to a prosecution, 
all ensure that such prosecutions will occur in only the most egregious 
situations and have ensured that the law is Charter of Rights-compliant." 
Unfortunately, many MPs have been swayed by the campaign of misinformation 
and fear and have heard very little from those who support the bill. NOW IS 
YOUR TIME TO ACT. 


So far the Committee has only had one hearing on the bill, during which I 
appeared as the sponsor, along with officials of the Department of Justice. 
In early May, the Committee will hear remaining witnesses and vote on 
whether to support the bill and send it back to the House. Currently on the 
Justice Committee, all four Canadian Alliance members oppose the bill, all 
four of the other opposition members (Bloc Quebecois, Conservative, and NDP) 
support the bill, and the Liberal position is unclear. With a total of ten 
Liberal MP's on the Committee the fate of the bill depends on how they will 
vote. Here are the names and contact information for those MPs: 

Committee Chair:The Hon. Andy Scott (Liberal)Fredericton, 506-452-4110, 
Ottawa: 613-992-1067, Fax: 613-996-9955, email: Scott.A at parl.gc.ca 

Vice-Chair:John McKay(Liberal)Scarborough East: Riding: 416-283-1226, 
Ottawa: 613-992-1447, Fax: 613-992-8968, Email: McKay.J at parl.gc.ca 

Marlene Jennings(Liberal)Notre-Dame de Grace: Riding: 514-489-8703, Ottawa: 
613-995-2254, Fax: 613-996-1481, Email: Jennings.M at parl.gc.ca 

Irwin Cotler(Liberal)Mount Royal: Riding: 514-736-0101, Ottawa: 
613-995-0121, Fax: 613-992-6762, Email: Cotler.I at parl.gc.ca 

The Hon. Hedy Fry(Liberal)Vancouver Centre: Riding: 604-666-0135, Ottawa: 
613-992-3213, Fax: 613-995-0056, Email: Fry.H at parl.gc.ca 

Joe Peschisolido(Liberal)Richmond: Riding: 604-666-7327, Ottawa: 
613-995-2021, Fax: 613-995-2174, Email: Peschisolido.J at parl.gc.ca 

Derek Lee(Liberal)Scarborough-Rouge River: Riding: 416-298-4224, Ottawa: 
613-996-9681, Fax: 613-996-6643, Email: Lee.D at parl.gc.ca 

Paul Macklin(Liberal)Northumberland: Rding: 905-372-8757, Ottawa: 
613-992-8585, Fax: 613-995-7536, Email: Macklin.P at parl.gc.ca 

John Maloney(Liberal)Erie-Lincoln: Riding: 905-835-5454, Ottawa: 
613-995-0988, Fax: 613-995-5245, Email: Maloney.J at parl.gc.ca 

Pat O'Brien (Liberal)London-Fanshawe: Riding: 519-685-4745, Ottawa: 
613-995-2901, Fax: 613-943-8717, Email: Obrien.P at parl.gc.ca 

Email List Summary: 
Scott.A at parl.gc.ca 
McKay.J at parl.gc.ca 
Jennings.M at parl.gc.ca 
Fry.H at parl.gc.ca 
Peschisolido.J at parl.gc.ca 
Cotler.I at parl.gc.ca 
Lee.D at parl.gc.ca 
Macklin.P at parl.gc.ca 
Maloney.J at parl.gc.ca 
Obrien.P at parl.gc.ca 
Robinson.S at parl.gc.ca 

I am writing to urgently request you to take a few moments to send a message 
to your own MP as well as to the Liberal MPs on the Justice Committee. Tell 
them that you believe that hate propaganda targeting gay and lesbian people 
must be stopped. Remind them of the many hate-motivated crimes directed at 
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, including the tragic murder 
of Aaron Webster. Tell them that it is not fair or just to protect some 
minorities from hate propaganda, but to deny that same protection to gay and 
lesbian people. 

C-250 is intended to protect those targeted for their sexual orientation 
from hate propaganda. For example, an American named Fred Phelps runs a 
web-site called www.godhatesfags.com, which is full of virulently hateful 
material. The web-site contains, among other things, an image of a young 
man named Matthew Sheppard burning in hell, and announcing the number of 
days he is supposed to have been in hell since his brutal murder in 1998. 
Matthew Sheppard was beaten, tortured, and left to die on a fence in 
Wyoming, because he was gay. 

When Fred Phelps wanted to come to Canada to pursue his campaign of hatred 
against gay and lesbian people, the RCMP said that they would like nothing 
better than to have the tools to stop him from entering our country, but 
because of the provisions of the Criminal Code, they were unable to do so. 
Sergeant Pat Callaghan, head of the hate crimes unit of the Ottawa-Carleton 
Police Department, had this to say about Phelps' activities in Canada: 

"If this was done against a Catholic, a Jew or a black person, charges could 
be laid. If we had that legislation, we wouldn't have to put up with his 
nonsense on Monday. We could have told him, 'If you show up and start 
spreading this hate, we'll arrest you.'" 

Canadians recognize that the promotion of hatred and genocide have no place 
in our society, regardless of the issue at hand. Every provincial and 
territorial Attorney General in Canada acknowledged this when, unanimously, 
they called upon the federal government in 2001 to adopt legislation that 
would protect those distinguished by sexual orientation from these crimes. 

The Attorney General of Alberta, Dave Hancock, pointed out that protecting 
gays from hateful propaganda has nothing to do with endorsing homosexuality. 
He said, "I support the hate crime legislation which prohibits people from spewing 
hate against anybody for any reason. There are appropriate ways to discuss 
issues in our country ... and you don't need to put forward hateful 
literature. It doesn't matter what you believe about sexual orientation." 

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Please do take a few 
minutes to respond to this urgent call to action. Your voice could help 
pass this bill, and save the lives of gay and lesbian people targeted by 
hate-mongers. PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and forward a 
copy to my office so we can keep you posted on the progress of the bill. 
Your voice could make the difference. 

Sincerely Yours, 

Svend J. Robinson, MP 
Burnaby-Douglas. 
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