Fram page 3 utone for a single paganda that strikes a shattering blow toa group of innocent people. And he brushed aside arguments thar Collins and the News are mere- Iv standing up against the tide of political correctness. “The human rights code and. this hearing are not about political incor- rectness,” he told chairman Nitya Iyer and the roughly 100 spectators and lawyers gathered at a Vancouver hotel. “They are about flesh and blood People and a whole community who suffer great harm from hate litera- ture.” Bur News lawyer David Sutherland said Collins did not refer to “all Jews” in his essay. He accused the CJC of reading too much into Collins’ On the Other Hand col- umn. Sutherland said society has taken great steps to improve human rights and the only means of maintaining thar trend is by ensuring a free press — one without government censor- ship. “Our gradual progress over time, with a free press, speaks volumes.” He added: “Our precious free- dom of speech cannor be turned over to a vague, discretionary and arbitrary forum.” Calling the hearing a test case, Sutherland saic! the fact that three years have clapsed since the com- plaint was filed highlights the inefficiencies in deciding such an issue through government bureaucracy. Tt would be better, he suggested, for the inde- NEWS columnist Doug Collins entered the fray Monday to face a human rights tribunal. Collins is che subject of a complaint laid by the Canadian Jewish Congress. ing its right to free speech, is now over $70,000, all of which has been contributed by the newspa- per’s readersh Lawyers senting several groups including Wednesday, May 14, 1997 — North Shore News — 3 Attempt made to stay out of U.S. From page\ Sebastian Burns, 22. The pair, who were not pre- sent in the Vancouver court- room, are charged with the planned killing of Rafay’s parents Tarig and Sultana, both 56, and handicapped sister, Basma, 21, in July 1994. The family members were bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat wielded by Burns, according to extradition hearing information. Atif Rafay allegedly watched his family being killed. “If the death penalty is im- posed it is the ultimate infringement of the = (Charter section 6.1) Right because clearly that would prohibit the person from coming, back to this country,” said Klein. He was re- ferring to the mobility rights of Canadians to enter, remain in Photo Rob Muilin ATIF Rafay and Glen Sebastian pendent and self: zoverning B.C. Press Council to hear such complaints. The council, which repre- sents 125 newspaners, is intervening on behalf of the newspaper inaustry at the hearing. Readers have “plenty of avenues” to follow when upset by a newspaper article or opinion piece, said Sutherland, pointing out that letters to the editor and follow-up stories are often used to express contrary views and correct errors. Sutherland ended his statement by quoting from a Globe and Mail editorial, which reads: “The rights to free speech and media carry with them ethical responsibilities to speak truthfully, and social responsibiliticy to speak fairly and respectfully. “But the occasional abuse of free speech is a small price to pay for its vitality, which cannot be sustained in an atmosphere of legal intimidation. Freedom in this context must urclude the freedom to be wrong and the freedom to be bad. The best recourse to free speech poorly used is free speech ia reply.” Roger McConchie, lawyer for the press coun- cil, said free speech is our most important right because it underpins all the others. He said B.C.’s revamped human rights laws are the most signifi- cant intrusion against freedom of expression since B.C. joined Confederation. “It is an intolerable restriction.” Photo Rob Mullin MANY gathered Monday to listen to lawyers argue before a tribunal hearing a case against Doug Collins. McConchie rejected the oft-mentioned notion Monday that a free press must be balanced against intolerance. Free speech is itself the balancing apparatus, he said. Under B.C.’s human rights legislation, the government can award unlimited damages to suc- cessful complainants. Appeals are not allowed. Batding a complaint is a costly undertaking. The News has already well in excess of $70,000 in legal fees and the bill could top $200,000. Its Free Speech Defence Fund, which was set up on March 26 to help detray the cost of defend- the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, the Chinese Benevolent Association and the B.C. Human Rights Coalition are attending the hearing and several witnesses are expected to be called. The hearing got off to a stow start Monday as eral spectators cheered and commented during submissions, prompting chairman Iyer to scold the gallery for its outbursts. She called a five- minute adjournment every time the hearing was disrupted. Collins, a News columnist since 1984, is no stranger to controversy, His writings have often sparked heated reactions and lawyer Sutherland says he will call evidence to show that most of the comments published about Collins by readers have been critical. Collins argues that the Holocaust has over- shadowed other wartime atrocities and mass slaughters because of the Jewish influence in the media and film-making. A decorated Second World War veteran him- self, Collins was captured at Dunkirk in 1940 and later escaped from several German prison camps and Eastern European jails before reaching England in 19-444. His hearing continues this week at Vancouver's Century Plaza Hotel until Thursday when it moves to the B.C. Police Commission offices at 407 - 815 Hornby St. Burns face extradition. and leave Canada. If the accused killers received the death penalry they could no longer enter Canada, argued Klein. Burns and Rafay were ordered extradited after a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in February 1996. After a defence appeal, Justice Minister Allan Rock last July ordered the pair extradited to face possible death sentences. The minister could have asked for assurances the pair would not re ceive death sentences if convict- ed. “In Canada we don’t believe in the death penalty,” Beirne. He said the pair’s young ages and their Canadian citizen- ships are mitigating factors in the extradition. Federal Crown lawyer S. David Frankel said the justice minister considered the “totality” of all circumstances when he made his decision. School mural bugs By fan Noble News Reporter ian@nsnews.com A mural intended to brighten up Handsworth school has become a lightning rod for a debate pitting creationists against evolutionists. The wall mural, which depicts man’s evolution from apes with a series of drawings against a DNA strand backdrop, was chosen through a selection process involving an art teacher and students. Initially, Handsworth principal Terry Shaw, in response to Christian students who said they were offended by the mural’s evolutionary theme, told Grade 12 artist Dan Siney that he couldn’t paint the mural on the science wing walls. Shaw said his decision was a question of fairness, not cen- sorship. “Was it fair to the Christian students to have that graphic up on the wall because they felt so uncomfortable with it?” he asked. However, Shaw reversed his orders after school board and ministry officials pointed out cvolution was part of the Biology 11 curriculum. Siney’s mural was given the green light. Creationists uncomfortable with evolutionary art theme The whole ordeal has left the young artist frustrated. “L never thought it would have been an issue in the first place, and it shouldn’t have been,” he said. “I had no intention to offend anyone. It’s a public school, and that’s what they teach in classes.” Siney said his idea was intended to be half-humorous, with the evolving people walking down the hallway into science class- es, He said that at first he was excited to be putting something on the school wall, but now he’s worried that the mural will be looked at as one that caused trouble among students. “Now it’s a discussion, not a mural,” he said. Counsellor Bead Smith, who is a Christian, said a group of students, mainly Christians, approached him with their concerns about the mural. The group, which also included Jews and Muslims, met with Shaw in Shaw's office a month ago to pre- sent their case, said Smith. In addition, a petition against the mural was circulated in the school for a day. More than 30 pec- ple signed it. “It was just a group of kids who had the right to be heard, and they were,” Smith said. “It’s offensive to those people who have religious views and evolution goes contrary to Christians those views.” Although Shaw's initial decision pleased those srudents, a new decision based on curriculum was made after discussions with board officials, said Shaw. “The leap is if it’s OK in the curriculum then it must be OK on the wall of the school,” said Shaw. “It’s very hard tu be fair to everybody — very difficult and sometimes impossible.” But Smith said arguments that something is in the curricu- lum so should be allowed on the walls is faulty. “We teach a lot of things in the school that probably shouldn’t become a permanent fixture,” he said. “We teach sex ed. wouldn’t put a mural of two people having sex on the wall either. “If there was some other offensive material going up on the walls offending another group I would support that not going up, regardless of the group being offended,” he said. Smith said students who oppose the mural are disappointed Shaw changed his mind under pressure from the school board and media. But Shaw said he did not change his decision under pressure, but because a different line of thinking was pointed out to him which he had to consider. Shaw, a Christian, said he does not have any problems with the mural. “I like it because it is a well done piece of art, and that’s the way I view it.” Smith said students against the mural will ask chat it receive a title such as “the theory of evolution.”