Foundation News
Alan Borovoy to speak on the limitation of offensive speech in a free society
January 15, 2008
CALGARY—Alan Borovoy, Canada's best-known civil libertarian, will be in Calgary on January 24 to speak on the key issues facing us as we try to balance free speech and freedom from discrimination. He will be joined by Stephen Ward, Professor of Journalism Ethics at UBC, and Micheal Vonn of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association for a panel discussion on Offensive speech: What’s legal? What’s ethical? sponsored by the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership.
Panellists will discuss where we should draw the line when speech is offensive to one or more groups, for example, gays or Muslims. Borovoy says he believes that human rights commissions were never meant to limit free speech, but rather to protect citizens from discrimination in employment, housing and services. However, the human rights complaints process is now being used to stifle offensive speech.
"Even truthful articles describing some of the awful situations in this world could run afoul of this law, it is so broad and such a potential threat to freedom of speech," he says.
Since freedom of speech is one of the bedrock principles of a free society, Borovoy argues that we should be careful about restricting free speech in the name of preventing offense. “In general … democracies should seek not to muzzle racists but to marginalize them. It’s too dangerous for the law to censor, it’s appropriate for citizens to censure.”
Stephen Ward will discuss the ethical demands on journalists who must decide whether or not to publish material that may cause offense. “A liberal democratic society needs a relatively wide area reserved for controversial and, yes, offensive speech so long as it is not hate speech. Toleration of offensive speech is a difficult but fundamental feature of an open society,” he says.
“We are in danger of losing a balance between freedom and responsibility. There are responsibilities to speak out, as well as to remain silent,” Ward says. “A love of building bridges between cultures does not entail the silencing of those who may not want to build a bridge, or do not want to speak in measured tones. Of course we should educate citizens to tolerate and respect each other. But we should also teach that in a plural society, expect to be offended.”
Micheal Vonn will weigh-in on the importance of not side-lining equality rights in free speech advocacy. “The tone of the current debate is quite troubling. The free speech advocates I'm reading in the mainstream press are insistent that marginalized groups are 'merely offended' and not threatened or genuinely afraid. What this public discussion needs is a lot less polemic and a lot more honest assessment of the complexity of the issues.”
Panellists will discuss the legal limitations on free speech and the ethical issues surrounding offensive speech, with reference to the recent human rights complaints against Maclean’s magazine, an anti-gay letter in a Red Deer newspaper, and the Danish cartoon controversy.
Panellists:
As General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association since 1968, Alan Borovoy has spoken out on freedom of speech, police and security issues, the division of church and state, and many other topics. In 2006, he won the International Press Freedom Award from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982. He is a widely published journalist and has written four books, including his landmark When Freedoms Collide, about civil liberties in Canada. A compelling speaker, Borovoy has made a career of sticking up for the underdog and is not afraid of controversy.
Stephen Ward is Director of the Centre for Journalism Ethics at UBC. He holds a PhD in philosophy and has 15 years experience as a working journalist, including 10 years with the Canadian Press (CP) as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief. Prof. Ward is a frequent media commentator on journalism ethics and is the author of The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond.
Micheal Vonn has been the Policy Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association since 2004. Ms. Vonn is a lawyer and a frequent speaker on civil liberties topics including lawful access and the privacy implications for Canadians of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. She has been an Adjunct Professor in the UBC Faculty of Law teaching civil liberties and an Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Library, Archival and Information Studies where she teaches information ethics and intellectual freedom.
Panellists will be available for interviews before and after the presentation.
When: Thursday, January 24, 5:30 – 8:30pm
Where: 2nd floor, Kahanoff Centre, 1202 Centre St. S, Calgary
To schedule an interview, or for more information:
Dan Shapiro
403-244-6666
dshapiro@chumirethicsfoundation.ca
Background:
- VIDEO: Offensive Speech: What's legal? What's ethical?
- Event poster (pdf)
- Hate Speech and Canadian Law (pdf), By Linda McKay-Panos, prepared for the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
- Human rights commissions still needed, By Janet Keeping, published in the Calgary Herald, January 23, 2008
- Defence of free speech must be absolute: advocate, Interview with Alan Borovoy, published in the Edmonton Journal, January 22, 2008
- The Furore Over Those Danish Cartoons Simply Refuses to Die. Indeed, some of it has migrated to Canada By Alan Borovoy, published in the Calgary Herald, March 10, 2006
- Freedom to Offend by Dr. Stephen Ward
- Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission Lund v. Boissoin decision, November 30, 2007. Decision on Remedy, May 30, 2008
- The future belongs to Islam By Mark Steyn, published in Maclean's, October 20, 2006
- Debate denied over Maclean's Muslim article By Naseem Mithoowani, et al, published in the Calgary Herald, December 29, 2007
- In rebuttal: Squashing debate like mosquitoes, By Mark Steyn, published in the Calgary Herald, January 2, 2008
- Freedom of speech our most fundamental right By Ezra Levant, published in the Calgary Herald, January 16, 2008
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