Canada: Human rights body to review Internet role

Joseph Brean, National Post
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE - Faced with a growing controversy over human rights complaints and freedom of speech, the Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday launched a major independent review of how it deals with hate messages on the Internet.

"I'm a free speecher. I'm also a human rightser," said Jennifer Lynch, chief commissioner of the CHRC. "We have a responsibility to lead the debate on how we can keep our policy up to date to effectively regulate hate on the Internet."

Headed by Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Windsor, the review will involve a reanalysis of Section 13-1 of the 1977 Canadian Human Rights Act, which applies to "telecommunication" of any material "that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or
contempt," based on 11 specific grounds such as race, gender or religion. the rest