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Richard Warman, Canada's Serial Human Rights Complainant, Now Sues National Post Newspaper, Others

Ezra Levant accuses Warman of wanting "to muzzle the Canadian conservative internet."

By John Jalsevac

April 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Richard Warman, the man who has been the plaintiff in half of the section 13 "hate-speech" cases brought before the Canadian Human Rights Commissions (CHRC), has now launched a sweeping lawsuit against some of the most prominent conservative publications, journalists and bloggers in Canada. 

Warman is suing for libel, alleging in particular that the defendants falsely accused him of posting a racist screed on the white supremacist website Freedom Site.

The list of the defendants in Warman's lawsuit reads like a who's-who of conservative journalism and blogging in Canada, including: The National Post Company, Jonathon Kay, Ezra Levant, Kathy Shaidle, Fivefeetoffury.com, Smalldeadanimals.com, Catherine McMillan, Mark Fournier, Freedominion.ca, and Constance Wilkins-Fournier.

Warman, who is a former CHRC employee, and who has launched some 25 human rights complaints, has come under increasing scrutiny in the last number of months, especially after it was discovered that he had pseudonymously posted racist remarks on extremist websites, ostensibly with the purpose of ousting hate crimes.

Warman has admitted to having written a post on the white supremacist website Stomfront, referring to "sexual deviants" and calling them "cancer." He has also admitted to signing off on some of his posts using the shorthand for "heil Hitler."

The questionable nature of his investigatory tactics has been further compounded by fact that Warman has directly collaborated with current employees of the CHRC, some of whom used the same method of investigation of pseudonymously posting racist remarks on extremist websites. On several occasions Warman went so far as to use CHRC computers at the CHRC office so as to conduct investigations into the same human rights complaints of which he was the plaintiff.

Marc Lemire, the administrator of the so-called Freedom Site is currently the subject of a human rights complaint by Warman. He has accused Warman of posting a racist screed on Freedom Site, which said, "Cools don't belong in our Senate. Not only is Canadian Senator Anne Cools a Negro, she is also an immigrant! And she is also one helluva preachy c*nt. She does NOT belong in my Canada. My Anglo-Germanic people were here before there was a Canada and her kind have jumped in, polluted our race, and forced their bull**** down our throats. Time to go back to when the women n**ger imports knew their place…And that place was NOT in public!"

Others, including Mark Steyn, Ezra Levant, and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, have repeated Lemire's accusation, saying that Warman was the author of the offensive post. Warman, however, has repeatedly denied writing the post, and is now suing for libel. He is requesting $50,000 in damages, a "full and unqualified apology" and the cost of his legal fees. 

The National Post, one of the defendants in the suit, is named for having published an article online by a Bernard Klatt, in which the accusation that Warman authored the post was repeated. However, shortly after the article was published, Warman complained and the National Post removed the article; the paper also issued a retraction and an apology, saying "The National Post has no evidence to support Mr. Klatt's allegation against Mr. Warman and it hereby retracts any suggestion that Mr. Warman manufactured any statement about Senator Cools. The National Post apologizes for any embarrassment this has caused Mr. Warman."

Warman, however, alleges in his suit that by the time the Post pulled the article the damage had already been done, with the article having been republished on "dozens, if not hundreds of web sites around the world."

Ezra Levant, the Canadian lawyer and former publisher of the now-defunct Western Standard magazine, who has made it his personal goal to "de-normalize" and ultimately to massively reform the CHRCs, after himself being subject to a section 13 complaint for republishing the controversial Mohammed cartoons, has responded by accusing Warman of wanting "to muzzle the Canadian conservative internet."

"Warman's not just suing me. He's suing some of the biggest names in the Canadian blogosphere - from Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals to Kathy Shaidle of Five Feet of Fury…to Free Dominion, the largest conservative chat site in Canada. Warman's goal is breathtaking in its chutzpah."

Levant has few kind words for Warman, whom he believes is largely responsible for fueling the "creeping censorship" that has allowed section 13 hate speech complaints to be used to shut down the Western Standard, and to drain the financial resources of private citizens who have dared to defend Christian teachings on homosexuality. Warman's personal vendetta, however, is largely against white supremacists.

At a speech in 2006, Warman described his methodology for promoting "human rights": "I've come to the conclusion that I can be most effective by using what I like to describe as a 'maximum disruption' approach.  … If I think that they've violated the Canadian Human Rights Act, then I'll look at all of the potential targets and file complaints against them starting on a 'worst offender' basis, although sometimes if I just find people to be particularly annoying this may move them up the list a bit."

Levant concluded his blog post on the suit by appealing to supporters to assist with the legal bills of all of those listed in the suit.

"I know Kathy, Kate and Connie and Mark and, like me, they don't have an extra $30,000 or $50,000 kicking around to fend off this nuisance suit. And that's probably how much it will cost each of us to take this to trial. In my case it's a double-whammy - I'm already on the hook for legal bills fighting against the Alberta HRC complaint about publishing the Danish cartoons." ( see http://ezralevant.com/2008/04/richard-warman-has-sued-me-and...)

Despite the mounting evidence demonstrating the widespread abuses of the human rights commission system, as well as the introduction of a private members bill meant to curtail the powers of the commissions so as to prevent further abuses, Canada's Conservative government has not yet responded to the issue.  Instead, Conservative MPs were instructed this past February not to address the issue, but simply to say, "It is not appropriate for me to comment on particular matters that might be before the Canadian Human Rights Commission or the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal."

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Internal Memo Tells Canada's Conservative MPs to be Noncommittal on Human Rights Commissions
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08021212.html

Canadian Human Rights Commission Employees Admit to Misconduct
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08032601.html

Prominent Canadian Publisher Denounces Human Rights Commissions at HRC Hearing
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08011401.html

Liberal MP Launches Motion to Stop Human Rights Commission Squelching of Free Speech
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08013104.html

Canada Catholic League Calls for Halt to Use of Human Rights' Commissions in Free Speech Cases
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010207.html

Alberta Human Rights Tribunal Rules Against Christian Pastor Boissoin
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07120306.html

Christian Political Party Before Human Rights Commission for Speaking Against Homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/07112706.html

Canada's Human Rights Commission Used to Target Conservative Website With "Hate Speech"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071907.html

Christian Pastor Hauled Before Human Rights Tribunal For Letter on Homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05090204.html

Pastor Facing Gay "Hate Speech" Tribunal Allowed to Publish Prof.'s Complaint
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06050807.html

Growing Support for Alberta Pastor Facing Human Rights Hearing Over Letters Against Homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05091407.html

Gay Human Rights Complaint Against Calgary Bishop Dropped - Was All About Getting Media Attention
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/aug/05082601.html

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