Canada does not have our First Amendment. It does not have as strong a protection for free speech as we do here in the U. S. of A.

So what does that mean, practically?

Canadians are less free to call people they do not like nasty things. That’s a hate crime, and that’s against the law in Canada . . . at least if your enemies are in the right, protected group.

Canadians who do not like this policy are also not free to call censors nasty things. Let me rephrase. They are not free to call censors “enemies of free speech.” Even if, by American standards, that is most obviously what hate-speech censors are.

Take the case of a particularly nasty piece of work, Richard Warman. He’s a lawyer who was employed by the Canadian Human Rights Commission to root out hate speech, particularly on the Web. Oh, I’m sure he’s a pillar of decency. He’s just unjust. His very job with the misnamed “human rights” commission was an ongoing series of injustices, so you’d expect his work to receive criticism.

And it did. An attorney defending Warman’s targets has repeatedly called Warman an “enemy of free speech.” And so what did Warman do?

He sued.

For libel.

And won.

And received $30,000. Yes, in Canada you may not speak truth about free speech to its official enemies. You cannot call a censor a censor.

But here in the United States, I can.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

• Episode Number: 1952
• Publication Date: 12/4/2007