Two Rights Do Not Make A Wrong
Say, can you support the right to Freedom of Speech AND the right to sue for libel?
Why yes, yes you can, Dear Reader, whether you're on the Right, the Left, or just a thoughtful politically engaged Canadian with no axe to grind or ox to gore, or even if you're a thoughtless NON politically engaged Canadian WITH an axe to grind and an ox to gore.
The two concepts are not at all exclusive. On the one hand, you can believe that all Canadians have the right to think what they think and say what they say. On the other hand, you can believe that any Canadian who is libelled by what someone else has said - has a right to sue that person for damages.
Character assassination is a terrible thing if you've ever experienced it because it directly affects your life, reputation, and livelihood. That's why libel is considered criminal, and not just something to complain about to the CHRC.
And there's a reason why the original intent behind CHRCs had little to do with the censorship of speech (as in, politically offensive speech - the current preoccupation of CHRCs) and a lot to do with ACTUAL discrimination against Canadians who could not otherwise afford to seek redress.
And libel can certainly lead to ACTUAL discrimination - but Canadian courts will (rightly or wrongly) consider from how high a height one has been libelled in assessing damages. Meaning, of course, that most libel is NOT worth pursuing in a court of law if one is of sound mind and has more important things to do - like make dinner, walk the dog, read the book for book club, etc.
But, as they say, the road to hell, etc etc, and there seems to be a lot of road paving going on at our CHRCs these days.
