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The Law Blog Not-Yet-a-Lawsuit of the Day: Ann Coulter v. Canada

By Ashby Jones

There’s an old Onion story that always makes us chuckle.

The headline reads: “Perky ‘Canada’ Has Own Government, Laws.” The story’s funny, too. It reads:

Like his estimated 35,000 fellow countrymen, Dorman is proud to be a “Canadian.” Located 120 miles north of Buffalo, NY, Canada is, according to Dorman, “a nation with a government and laws distinct from those of the United States.”

Indeed, American conservative darling Ann Coulter recently became acquainted with just how different the laws are up in the Great White North. And we’re not talking speed limits or drug laws. Nope, we’re talking freedom of speech.

The story: A group of conservative students at the University of Ottawa recently asked Coulter to come up to give a talk. But before she was to arrive, the school’s provost, Francois Houle, gave Coulter a little fair warning on just how far she could take things in her speech. The letter, published by the National Post, starts normally enough:

Dear Ms. Coulter,

I understand that you have been invited by University of Ottawa Campus Conservatives to speak at the University of Ottawa this coming Tuesday. We are, of course, always delighted to welcome speakers on our campus and hope that they will contribute positively to the meaningful exchange of ideas that is the hallmark of a great university campus. We have a great respect for freedom of expression in Canada, as well as on our campus, and view it as a fundamental freedom, as recognized by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Okay. But by this point, you’re sorta wondering where this is going. The letter continues:

I would, however, like to inform you, or perhaps remind you, that our domestic laws, both provincial and federal, delineate freedom of expression (or “free speech”) in a manner that is somewhat different than the approach taken in the United States. I therefore encourage you to educate yourself, if need be, as to what is acceptable in Canada and to do so before your planned visit here.

You will realize that Canadian law puts reasonable limits on the freedom of expression. For example, promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges. Outside of the criminal realm, Canadian defamation laws also limit freedom of expression and may differ somewhat from those to which you are accustomed. I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind.

Interesting, eh? The gist of it: be nice or you could land in trouble with the law.

So how did Coulter respond? Initially, as Eric Lipman over at Legal Blog Watch notes, Coulter was cheeky: “I was hoping for a fruit basket, not a threat to prosecute,” she wrote here.

But LBW reports that on Monday, Coulter put forth a different take, saying that she intends to file a grievance with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, saying that Houle’s letter to her was, in fact, a hate crime in and of itself. Click here for the Vancouver Sun story.

"I'm sure the Human Rights Commission will get to the bottom of it," Coulter reportedly said on Monday. "I think I'm the victim of a hate crime here. Either what (Mr. Houle) did was a hate crime, or the whole commission is BS."

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 23, 2010 (boomark / email).