Odious speech `price we pay for our freedom'
City wrong to cancel anti-gay speaker: judge
A city violated the free expression of a church when it cancelled an event because of the participation of an anti-LGBTQ activist, according to a decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
In a ruling that came down in support of free speech, Justice Maria Morellato said, “In a free and democratic society, the exchange and expression of diverse and often controversial or unpopular ideas may cause discomfort. It is, in a sense, the price we pay for our freedom.”
The decision comes as the federal Liberal government has proposed a new law, Bill C-36, which would bring back a civil remedy for hate speech complaints and would include a new definition of hate speech in legislation, based on previous court decisions.
Experts have pointed out that courts define hate speech narrowly, meaning that much of what might be considered as such by the average Canadian doesn't qualify as hate speech under the law — instead falling into the so-called “awful but lawful” category.
For instance, courts have said that advocating for the lessening of rights of certain groups doesn't fall into the category of hate speech.
The judge found the City of New Westminster erred in cancelling a contract with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, also known as Grace Chapel, to rent ballroom space for a Christian youth conference. The city cancelled the booking because of one complaint that one of the event's facilitators, Kari Simpson, was an anti-LGBTQ advocate.
The judge said the city should have done more to look into the content of the youth conference itself, and the views of the speakers, before cancelling.
“I am very aware that the city was attempting to protect LGBTQ rights when it made its decision to cancel the Youth Conference. This is laudable and such minority rights must be considered,” the judge said.
“Yet, an important step in the city's decision-making process was missed. The city did not reach an informed conclusion; rather, it proceeded to make its decision on the basis of assumptions about the Youth Conference and what it would involve. It based its assumptions about the content of that conference solely on one of the facilitators' ostensible views without considering what would actually be expressed at the Youth Conference.”
Simpson runs the group Culture Guard, and has been an activist for decades. Simpson's campaign against books depicting gay couples being available in schools led to a defamation suit that ended in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2008. The court decision described her as “a widely known social activist opposed to any positive portrayal of a gay lifestyle.”
In recent years Simpson has been campaigning against an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in B.C. schools.
Morellato said the decision to cancel the booking may have been justified if the city had “at least explored or considered some possible accommodation.”
But it “took no steps to consider how any infringement of Grace Chapel's freedom of expression might be minimized, while it considered the other interests it wished to protect. Its decision was quick and precipitous.”
The City of Westminster had argued Simpson was a “notorious anti-Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) activist” who advocated for “sexual orientation therapy.”
The city had argued that “even if this expression does not rise to the level of hate speech, the low value of expression supports the reasonableness of the cancellation.”
But the judge disagreed, writing that once “governments begin to argue that the expression of some ideas are less valuable than others, we find ourselves on dangerous ground.”
Morellato said in the decision that “the city curtailed Grace Chapel's freedom of expression by essentially assuming it was `low value' without properly informing itself.”
The church had told the city in a letter the focus of the conference was “to consider Biblical views regarding sexuality and identity issues.”
The city “took immediate steps to research and consider the concerns raised by the complaint it received that anti-LGBTQ views would be disseminated at the Youth Conference.”
But before it cancelled the conference the next day, “the city took no similar steps to more fully inform itself about the anticipated content or focal points of the speakers at the Youth Conference.”
Morellato noted that her conclusion that “the city did not make sufficient efforts to inform itself in order to fairly consider and balance competing rights is buttressed by the fact that the city was asked by Grace Chapel to reconsider its decision and it declined to do so.”