Mark Steyn "Dares Human Rights Tribunal To Rule Against Him"

The Canadian Press notes, “The man whose controversial writing is at the centre of a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal complaint is daring the tribunal to rule against him“:

Two members of the Canadian Islamic Congress filed the complaint with the tribunal over an excerpt of Mark Steyn’s book published in Maclean’s magazine in 2006, saying it was hateful and showed contempt for Muslims.

“We want to lose,” Steyn said Friday.

“We want to lose so we can take it to a real court and if necessary up to the Supreme Court of Canada and we can get the ancient liberties of free-born Canadian citizens that have been taken away from them by tribunals like this.

“We want those ancient civil liberties restored.”

Steyn, who did not address the tribunal but was in the hearing room for some of the submissions, said he’s “terrified” that the issue will be dismissed by the tribunal because the lawyer for the congress “put on such a staggeringly inept case.”

Though not present for the entire five-day hearing, Steyn was not shy about how he feels towards the tribunal. He’s called its members “pretend judges” and the system a joke.

“I think this court shames the province of British Columbia and is simply incompatible with the traditions of a great free society with a long, legal inheritance,” he said outside the hearing room.

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The hearing has been closely followed by members of the Muslim community.

Tarek Ramadan of Vancouver said that while hurtful things are often written about Muslims in the media, he was most offended by how Maclean’s magazine dealt with the controversy.

“They’re being a little difficult about giving the Muslim community a chance to rebut the article,” he said. “Ideology should be faced with ideology.”