Freedom Flyer December 1992 Cover

Freedom Flyer 22

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

December 1992




Highlights of Freedom Party's Address
to the Ontario Human Rights Code Review Task Force


The following comments and recommendationshave been excerpted from the minutes of the Task Force's transcripts of proceedings as they took place on April 13, 1992 at the Sheraton Hotel in London, Ontario. Representing Freedom Party at the day-long event were Fp leader Robert Metz and Fp Ontario Secretary Robert Vaughan.


Vaughan:

  • "As a private citizen, I would feel more secure and at ease having a judge who has experience in making such crucial decisions and who has been chosen for his objectivity. I would be more secure in dealing with a judge than with the (Tribunal) Commissioners because I am not sure of their qualifications and why they were chosen by the government."

  • "I believe children are inherently non-discriminatory when it comes to things like race, colour, or creed, and things of that nature. To start talking about discrimination at such a young age I think would confuse the children, to say the least."

  • "If you were to develop a program of education or communication with children regarding discrimination, I think that the political overtones of things like human rights - and it is a political issue, and an ideological one when it comes to our government - well, this belongs in the area of political discussion and these things should be kept for those attending, if not university, then the senior grades in high schools."

    Metz:

  • "Repeatedly we see the term 'human rights' used (by the task force), although it is never defined in terms of what I would call rights - what we typically know as freedom of association, speech, conscience and religion, and the basic fundamental freedoms we are accustomed to knowing are our rights. Instead, the term 'human rights' within the context of (the task force) is being used to describe one thing only, and that is the denial of one particular right (freedom of association) when it is applied to certain criteria, namely, the denial of the right to discriminate on the 15 prescribed criteria that are listed here."

  • "If I were to go by these (15) bases of discrimination, I would argue that the government does all the discriminating. I am not saying whether any of these criteria are right or wrong - some are right, some are wrong - but I am saying that governments do discriminate on the basis of the criteria (being prohibited)."

  • "For example, let us take citizenship. Did you know that 1985 was the last time that non-citizens were allowed to vote in Ontario?..."

  • "Respecting creed, it is well known that various established churches and religions receive tax-free status..."

  • "Regarding marital and family status, they are routinely taken into account when talking about family law and tax rules that affect both the outcome of court settlements and the determination of taxes payable."

  • "Regarding records of offences, courts routinely use them to determine the sentencing of repeat offenders..."

  • "We can talk about (government discrimination on the basis of) race, ancestry, place of origin: from our immigration restrictions to the establishment of our native reservations and to the forced collection of racial statistics and the enforcement of quotas."

  • "When it comes to colour, it is always governments that are constantly preoccupied with the term "visible minority" and it is government that is using this particular criteria of discrimination in its enforcement of systemic discrimination."

  • "Sexual orientation? I cannot count how many times in Canada I have seen magazines and literature catering to homosexual interests routinely seized by Customs Authorities and by police. Places where homosexuals have voluntarily associated have, over the years, been raided by the police many times. It is government that is doing the discriminating - and the persecution."

  • "Regarding (discrimination against those in) receipt of public assistance, Canadian and provincial law routinely affords special privileges to such recipients. Somehow, someone who is receiving public assistance is not subject to the same rules as the rest of us."

  • "Regarding age: Ontarians under 18 cannot vote, even though they may know more about the issues than those over 18. Ontarians under 19 cannot legally consume alcohol, even though they may be fully responsible. Ontarians under 16 cannot obtain a driver's license even though they may be able to drive."

  • "Let's not start on a path of reverse discrimination that cannot be stopped until it is too late."


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