BRUCE PARDY: Free speech does NOT protect 'imminent threats of violence'

A Queen's University law professor expressed disdain for the "hate speech" concept, noting threats of violence is already a criminal offence.

Free speech does not protect people who threaten imminent violence against others, says one law professor and freedom advocate. Since October 7, 2023, Hamas sympathizers have shamed and intimidated Jewish Canadians and other ethnic groups for not backing their ideology.

Elected officials and law enforcement have refused to take meaningful action against these hate marches. As a result, synagogue arsons, school shootings, and calls for genocide have become commonplace in Canada, especially Toronto and Montreal.

Bruce Pardy, a Queen's University Law Professor, says the problem intensifies when something becomes a political matter. "Then the law is not being neutral anymore."

Those who called out the antisemitic barbarity were shunned, arrested, and sometimes ridiculed for taking a stand through peaceful protest. Rebel News reporters have been arrested several times this year in their coverage of these protests. Meanwhile, few arrests have taken place on the other side.

"If there are people who are actually making threats ... that might suggest that the law is not being applied the way we would like to imagine it," Pardy told the publication. "And if you have laws that are not being applied evenly, regardless of the political orientations or the identities of the speakers, that's not good either."

Pardy suggests that's part and parcel for how our system is evolving. "It's all tied up with laws about equity, hate speech and social justice," he said.

The law professor expressed a vehement disdain for the "hate speech" concept, as intimidating or threatening others with violence is already a criminal offence. "That's the proper line to draw, and still be able to say that you live in a free country," he said.

"My inclination is not to throw away free speech," reiterated Pardy, "because once free speech gets weaponized, it will likely come back to bite you."

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COMMENTS

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  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2024-12-31 22:01:59 -0500
    The UC’s not the only denomination with such controversial views.
  • Lynne Osborne
    commented 2024-12-31 11:18:29 -0500
    Rebel News should check into the United Church’s position on Hamas, Palestine and Israel. It is eyebrow raising for sure.
  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2024-12-29 22:33:08 -0500
    We need to be clear about free speech. The left figures we’re free to say what they want us to say. But free speech is speaking the truth even when it’s unpopular.