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Bruce Pardy: C-9 is an affront to free speech, but the government took it away long ago

'Guaranteed rights' are doublespeak of the modern managerial state

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The federal government’s most recent assault on free speech — Bill C-9, the combating hate act — has been held up in committee as Liberals and Conservatives squabble over proposed amendments. If passed, Bill C-9 could be used, among other things, to prohibit peaceful protests that the government dislikes. But C-9 is not the cause of the long erosion of free speech in Canada. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms says we have free speech. Cereal boxes and tax returns show we don’t.

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Free speech is a “fundamental freedom” listed in Section 2 of the Charter. The Charter, of course, is part of the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Free speech is a right we hold against governments. When governments do nothing, we have free speech. Governments protect free speech by getting out of the way.

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