Victory?

No and Yes

Here is what Member Hadjis says in the first sentence of his conclusion in the Lemire Case the other day:

I have determined that Mr. Lemire contravened s. 13 of the Act in only one of the
instances alleged by Mr. Warman, namely the AIDS Secrets article.

In other words, that says to me, that Mr. Lemire is guilty of one count out of the several he was charged with. It's pretty clear up to this point. But it does get muddy in the next sentence here:

However, I have also concluded that s. 13(1) in conjunction with ss. 54(1) and (1.1) are inconsistent with s. 2(b) of the Charter, which guarantees the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. The restriction imposed by these provisions is not a reasonable limit within the meaning of s. 1 of the Charter. Since a formal declaration of invalidity is not a remedy available to the Tribunal (see Cuddy Chicks Ltd. V. Ontario (Labour Relations Board), [1991] 2 S.C.R. 5), I will simply refuse to apply
these provisions for the purposes of the complaint against Mr. Lemire and I will not issue any remedial order against him (see Nova Scotia (Workers’ Compensation Board) v. Martin, 2003 SCC 54 at paras. 26-7).

All this says to me is Member Hadjis ducked and jived his way past this by saying guilty, but I have a way to not fine him, so I won't.

And Ezra Levant, Mark Steyn and all the other Speechies out there jumped on the "Hadjis is a hail fellow well met NOW" band wagon and declared victory for free speech. I am as optimistic as the next guy, and I have had a little more book learning than the average guy, and I also have a little more time on my hands to look at nuances than most.

I heard Marc Lemire on the radio the other night (delayed) celebrating this victory, and have read what Ezra has said about this, as well as Mark Steyn and everybody else. While everybody is clapping themselves on the back for a job well done, and taking the pause that refreshes, and while the comments come on to the blog posts about this great victory, J Ly and her CHRC and CASHRA cronies are figuring out their next strategic moves to protect their turf. She has already shown that she gets mean when you mess with her green.

Even this moral victory, since that is all it is factually, would never have come about without the tireless work of people like Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn denormalizing the human rights industry for the sham that it is, and for bloggers coming onside with them, and for some of the media and more as time passes joining is as well. But there is so much more to be done.

So, get back to work. This ain't over. In fact, it has hardly started. Tear this decision apart, and figure out what it really means. Then, support Stephen Boissoin in his real case coming up at the Alberta Court of Queens Bench this month.