By Gudrun Schultz
CALGARY, Alberta, May 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Alberta human rights panel ruled Thursday against a Calgary professor who wanted a “hate speech” complaint he filed with the Alberta Human Rights Commission against an area pastor kept off the Internet.
Calgary professor Dr. Darren Lund issued a complaint four years ago against Pastor Stephen Boissoin over a controversial letter Mr. Boissoin wrote to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate, in which he called on the heterosexual population to take a stand against the “horrendous atrocities” of the “aggressive propagation of homo- and bisexuality.”
Mr. Boissoin expressed his concern over the introduction of pro-homosexual material in elementary classrooms, saying, “From kindergarten class on, our children, your grandchildren are being strategically targeted, psychologically abused and brainwashed by homosexual and pro-homosexual educators.”
Prof. Lund’s complaint against Mr. Boissoin accused him of “hate-mongering,” saying he used “extremist hate-group terminology to demonize and dehumanize individuals.”
Mr. Lund compared Mr. Boissoin to an “infamous” teacher, James Keegstra, convicted of teaching hatred, and a white power Aryan Nations leader Terry Long.
Mr. Lund filed a critical application seeking to bar publication of his complaint against Mr. Boissoin, saying he had received harassment as a result of the material’s availability to the public. The human rights panel ruled against him, saying, “There is no evidence that Dr. Lund has been harassed or that his family’s safety is in jeopardy.”
“The ability to express one’s conscience is a fundamental human right,” said Jeremy Tedesco, litigation counsel for the Alliance Defence Fund, an American-based legal alliance dedicated to defending religious liberty, in a press release. “The pastor cannot be muzzled simply because someone else does not share his viewpoint.”
“We are pleased the panel chose to recognize Mr. Boissoin’s right to express himself,” Said Gerald Chipeur, an Alberta-based ADF-allied attorney. “Posting legal documents on a Web site is not a crime.”
The Human Rights Tribunal has yet to issue a decision on the issue.
See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
Alberta Christian Pastor Hauled Before Human Rights Tribunal For Letter to Editor on Homosexuality
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05090204.html
Growing Support for Alberta Pastor Facing Human Rights Hearing Over Letters Against Homosexuality
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05091407.html