‘te - Wednesday, August 20, 1997 — North Shore News a in the NDP’s world, free ‘Speech isn’t By Pater Speck News Publisher :I didn’t start out to be a “publisher,” at least “in the editorial sense of the word. * ~ started the North Shore News with 50 cents and an . idea for a free-distribution newspaper. For years I was so busy selling advertising that the editorial side of the busi- * ness. was left to the managing editor of the time. 22! I wrote a column for a few years, and in times of crisis sometimes wrote.the paper from cover to cover. But in - the last 28 years the managing editors did the work and I did a lot of learning. I’m still learning. It has been my happy lot to get to know many adver- tisers. One of the objections that advertisers have been Own to raise is that this is a “free” paper. I like to joke may be “free” to readers, but it costs us a great deal of money for production, printing, editorial, distribution, and ‘many other things that go into the product you holt. ‘To bring this around to Freedom of speech: no one hat could and bout which I 8 days rior to 2 provin: vw rrongs snoops the any premise or ability: t0’ sda “Star Chamber” spent more and we haven’t even heard the verdict yet. . This has been very stressful for Doug Collins, a pro- fessional journalist for over 50 years. It’s been hard‘on *Tim Renshaw and his editorial staff. It’s been hell for our “advertising staff, not much fun for the rest of the staff, and I assure you absolutely no fun for me. (The reporting of the proceedings in the major media has been, in the main, emotional, supérficial and biased. “The public is confused. We look like the bad guys “the priceless issue of “freedom of speech” an ns of not having it go largely unreported. «Freedom of speech is actually quite expensive: our legal bill is approximately $203,000.. ‘North Shore News readers, by the hundreds, have ger of this legislation and sent us money to t have been flal by the $105,000 ave reccived in the mail an the cheery and under- letters of support that accompany most of them. An a this “punishment” for saying that, in effect, if Christian fundamentalists controlled Hollywood, we ould probably see many box-office titles about Jesus; “that no one knows exactly how many people died in the concentration cainps; and that there have been man’ -holocausts in the 20th century that do not receive the scontinued attention of the media the same way the Nazi “death camps do. . vo . These are reasonably held statements of material fact culled from about 1,509 Collins columns and for these “we have been vilified by the Star Chamber. The pain is not only in the judgment, as yet undeliv- ered, it’s also in the hearings. . NDP’s three bad bills By Timothy Renshaw Managing Editor trenshaw@direct.ca IT is not a one-newspaper battle. It is not a one- columnist battle. The Human Rights Tribunal hearing that pits the Canadian Jewish Congress against the North Shore News and its columnist Doug Collins is a battle that goes well beyond what the CJC thinks of Mr. Collins. It goes well beyond what anyone thinks of Doug Collins or any other columnist or any other opinion expressed anywhere in the province via any media. Tt goes right to the heart of what makes 2 democracy tick and what keeps it honest: the freedom to express opinions and ideas openly, the frecdom to challenge commonly accepted assumptions and the right to be wrong. That issue keeps getting missed somehow by too many members of the public and far too many members of the media The CJC is not only fighting to silence one of its critics, it is fighting to erode its own rights to free expression. Meanwhile the. NDP government marches on in its cam- paign to limit the bounds of open discussion and cast a legisla- tive chill over the land. . The News’ bout in the NDP’s human rights kangaroo court centred on the intrusive, unnecessary and vague Bill 33. But it is just one of three dangerously anti-democratic pieces * of NDP Iegislation now in cffect. A brief s of this trio of bad bills: ummary ; . » 1995's Bill 28, the Election Act, restricts to $5,000 the amount of money individuals or groups (other than registered " political parties) can spend supporting or opposing candidates of expressing zheir views during provincial elections. The arbi- - _ trary spending ceiling ~ province-wise and, in ¢! ‘|. ously impairs the public’s right to know and its right to”. resents a drop in the bucket . , is a gag law. The legislation seri- express opinion during a most critical period in the democratic rocess. |. . . @ Bill 33, the 1993 Human Rights Act, restricts the. publica” . tion of material that “indicates discrimination” or is “likely to a person or group of persons to hatred or contempt.” > The vaguely worded legislation is policed by a non-elected © : Human Rights Commission empowered to extract unlimited compensation from those ruled to have violated the legista- tlon... . ead . : ee gt : ”. @ 1995?s Bill 32, the new Human Rights Amendment Act, - empowers the Human Rights Commission to seck out « - enter premises and determine whether “human rights contra: ventions” have been committed. : Human rights personnel have the power to seize books, records, notes, photographs and other material, and the right to lay charges. ; Investigations can be launched without “reasonable and probable cause.” a The bill provides for no trial by impartial judge or jury. three members of the Human Rights Commission are pa political appointments by the provincial. Cabinet. The c sion, in effect, becomes an arm of the government emp to censor public discussion. ; Ce i Though they deal with separate issues, the thre: really slices of the same rank political cheese... |: And though their supporters would argue that the bi aimed at creating a better society, they all miss the mark. alleged human rights Violations or complaints about dis: - cy di crimination, be plainant. oo ; Ca we Tr allows the Human Rights branch to obtain ‘a warrant to real or perceived; without @com- °°. THE ISSUB: Freedom of the press : in Canada. The North Shore News is the subject of a B.C. Council of Human Rights complaint . lodged. by the- Canadian Jewish Congress over a. col-‘ umn written by News columnist Doug - Collins. To date, the North Shore News «. has spent over $200,000 in legal: fees *: battling the complaint, and has set up a : fund to help cover further costs, which could reach an estimated $300,000. BACKGROUND ON BILL 33: On June 23, 1993, the B.C. govern- ment (led by the New’ Democratic: Party) passed Bill 33, the amended ® Human Rights Act, which prohibits the | Ii publication of material that “indicates” TR discrimination” or is “likely to expose a person or « group or class of persons to atred or contempt.” Unofficially referred to as the “Kill Collins” iegisiation, the Act also called for the establishment of a Council of Human Rights to be appointed by the licutenant governor to deal with discrim- ination complaints from the public. Subsequent human rights amendments brought in under Bill 32 further empow- ered the government’s human rights machinery to seek out alleged human rights violations or complaints about dis- crimination without a complainant. The Council of Fluman Rights has the power to award the person discriminated against “an amount that the board of inquiry considers appropriate to compen- sate that person for injury to dignity, feel- ings and self respect.” There is no limit placed on the amount of an award. THE COMPLAINT: On May 26, 1994, the Canadian Jewish Congress filed a formal complaint with the Council * of Human Rights over a March 9, 1994, column in the North Shore News writ- — ten. by Doug Collins..The column — entitled “Hollywood Propaganda” — expressed Collins’ Hollywood _ productions Schindler's List represent propaganda designed to focus public attention on the holocaust and to su compensation being paid to Israel an holocaust survivors b young to be responsible for the Hitler period of German history. - The column also expressed Cullins’ view that the Jewish influence in Hollywood is extremely powerful, and that, consequently, other 20th century holocausts have not received the same opinion . that _ such as ‘continuin Germans too vi : » det the publication’s rights under freedom 0} the ‘press.’ Contributions can be sent. the North Shore News at 1139 Lonsdal Avenue, North. Vancouver, : B.C. 2H4. (Cheques ‘can be made pays! “The. North Shore’ News’ Free. Spee Defence Fund”)