A Victory for Free Speech in Canada...Sort Of

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has decided to dismiss the charges brought against Mark Steyn and the magazine Maclean's. This is a victory for free speech, but it may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory. Speech can never truely be free in a society in which 'human rights' commisions (which are no more than thought police) are allowed to exist.

Maclean's website has posted a blurb about the dismissal. It stated:

"Maclean's magazine is pleased that the Canadian Human Rights Commission has dismissed the complaint brought against it by the Canadian Islamic Congress. The decision is in keeping with our long-standing position that the article in question, "The Future Belongs to Islam," an excerpt from Mark Steyn's best-selling book America Alone, was a worthy piece of commentary on important geopolitical issues, entirely within the bounds of normal journalistic practice."

"Though gratified by the decision, Maclean's continues to assert that no human rights commission, whether at the federal or provincial level, has the mandate or the expertise to monitor, inquire into, or assess the editorial decisions of the nation's media. And we continue to have grave concerns about a system of complaint and adjudication that allows a media outlet to be pursued in multiple jurisdictions on the same complaint, brought by the same complainants, subjecting it to costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to say nothing of the inconvenience. We enthusiastically support those parliamentarians who are calling for legislative review of the commissions with regard to speech issues."