speech in Canada
http://ow.ly/1pHPq
& Charter of Rights
[excerpt]
Ms. Coulter, who was to speak at the University of Western Ontario on
Monday night, received a pre-emptive and private caution about the limits
of free speech in Canada from the provost of the University of Ottawa,
where she appears Tuesday.
The letter was immediately leaked to select conservative news
organizations, with Ms. Coulter telling one that the university was
"threatening to criminally prosecute me for my speech."
For a strident provocateur who's speaking on "Political Correctness, Media
Bias and Freedom of Speech," the University of Ottawa warning – however
tepid – was pure oxygen for the fire.
"We, of course, are always delighted to welcome speakers on our campus and
hope that they will contribute positively to the meaningful exchange of
ideas that is the hallmark of a great university campus," wrote Francois
Houle, vice-president academic and University of Ottawa's provost.
After mentioning the Charter of Rights and Canada's free speech laws, Mr.
Houle invited Coulter to "educate yourself, if need be, as to what is
acceptable in Canada" and noted, by example, that "promoting hatred
against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate,
but could in fact lead to criminal charges."
Ms. Coulter is famous for saying "not all Muslims may be terrorists, but
all terrorists are Muslims."
She also famously ranted that "the government should be spying on all
Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy
cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East, and sending liberals to
Guantanamo."
Mr. Houle's letter was leaked to the National Post in Canada and to
newsmax.com – the self-described "leading independent online news site
with a conservative perspective" – in the United States.
