本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Please Say NO to Motion 103, a Death Blow to Free Speech
Dear Members of Parliament,
I am a Canadian citizen. I have learned that the Members of Parliament will soon debate Motion 103, brought up by MP Iqra Khalid.
I am deeply concerned by Motion 103, as I do not think it is right, and I am writing to request that:
- MP Iqra Khalid to withdraw the Motion; or
- The Members of Parliament to reject the Motion;
According to Motion 103, the government is requested to:
(a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear;
(b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and
(c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could
(i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia...
(ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and present its findings and recommendation within 240 calendar days...
Here I would like to share with you my thoughts on Motion 103.
1. Motion 103 is legally unnecessary, and is a waste of tax-payer's money, in that:
- "freedom of conscience and religion", and "freedom of association" are the fundamental rights of every Canadian, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- "Every individual", regardless of religion, "has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law", as stated by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- Hate crime is already written in the Criminal Code of Canada;
As a result, any systematic racism, religious discrimination and hate crime against Islam, just as against any other religion, are already pronounced illegal, and will be punished according to the law. There is no reason to single out Islam as a religion, and to be given preferences over other religions.
2. Motion 103 is based on vaguely defined terms:
- The term "hate" (in "public climate of hate"), and the term "Islamophobia" do not have clear and strict definitions, thus are prone to be interpreted arbitrarily;
When a bill is based on ambiguous terms, it is destined to be misused.
3. Motion 103 may be based on unfounded assumptions:
- Given that the Motion emphasised twice the term 'Islamophobia' ('the hate to Islam', per my wildest guess), but not any 'hate' to other religion, it is likely that the proposer of the Motion believes that Islam is the largest victim of hate crime. Is there any sufficient evidence proving that?
According to Statistics Canada, in 2013 there were 326 police-reported hate crimes motivated by hatred of a religion or religious group. The hate-motivated crimes targeting the Muslim religion reported by police in 2013 is not of the biggest number, comparing to hate crimes targeting other religions.
4. Motion 103 is a threat to fundamental human rights and freedoms of Canadians, in that:
- "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication" are the fundamental freedoms of Canadians, as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- The quoted needs to 'quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear', and to 'condemn Islamophobia...', coupled with the ambiguous terms of 'hate' and 'Islamophobia', will become a perfect formula to suppress the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression", and to exert excessive censorship to the news and media;
And to be honest, the very thought of my government to 'quell' my feelings of 'hate and fear' just sends a tingling sensation up my spine. As a human being, I have my rights to my own feelings, be it happiness, love, hate, and fear. The idea of the government manipulating my feelings, and suppressing the expression of my feelings just reminds me of fascism and communism, not a democratic Canada as a beacon of freedom and liberty respected by the whole world.
I think people should learn from history: Hitler first managed to deprive the people of basic civil rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech. That is how The Nazi Terror Begins. No matter how lofty and how innocent the motives might be, the infringement of civil liberties and freedoms will render detrimental, if not disastrous consequences in the end.
I firmly believe that, as a democratic government, the Government of Canada must encourage the solidarity and safety for all its citizens, but not to legislate them at the expense of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
I am sure that you have heard the outcries of concerns from many Canadians, in light of the Motion 103, for good reasons.
As some of my fellow Canadians put it, there is no greater recipe for the ultimate destruction of Canada and its’ culture than Motion 103. Naturally there are those who seek to limit the ability of people of different opinions to speak out. Once you cannot speak out, your voice is gone. Anything you say can and will be held against you. Fear will overtake you as you realize your ability to defend the freedom of yourself, your family, your neighborhood, your town, and your country, is gone. Once it is gone it is very hard to get back, historically it involves significant amounts of fighting and blood to regain it.
With great power comes great responsibility. As selected by the people to serve the people, my dear Members of Parliament, please listen to the people, and act with foresight, instead of short-sightedness. If you want to keep freedom as a treasure to pass on to your children and grandchildren, so that they will not have to take up arms later, you only have to say NO to this Motion, and any other efforts that will take away the people's freedom!
Thank you for reading!
xxx更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Dear Members of Parliament,
I am a Canadian citizen. I have learned that the Members of Parliament will soon debate Motion 103, brought up by MP Iqra Khalid.
I am deeply concerned by Motion 103, as I do not think it is right, and I am writing to request that:
- MP Iqra Khalid to withdraw the Motion; or
- The Members of Parliament to reject the Motion;
According to Motion 103, the government is requested to:
(a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear;
(b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and
(c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could
(i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia...
(ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and present its findings and recommendation within 240 calendar days...
Here I would like to share with you my thoughts on Motion 103.
1. Motion 103 is legally unnecessary, and is a waste of tax-payer's money, in that:
- "freedom of conscience and religion", and "freedom of association" are the fundamental rights of every Canadian, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- "Every individual", regardless of religion, "has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law", as stated by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- Hate crime is already written in the Criminal Code of Canada;
As a result, any systematic racism, religious discrimination and hate crime against Islam, just as against any other religion, are already pronounced illegal, and will be punished according to the law. There is no reason to single out Islam as a religion, and to be given preferences over other religions.
2. Motion 103 is based on vaguely defined terms:
- The term "hate" (in "public climate of hate"), and the term "Islamophobia" do not have clear and strict definitions, thus are prone to be interpreted arbitrarily;
When a bill is based on ambiguous terms, it is destined to be misused.
3. Motion 103 may be based on unfounded assumptions:
- Given that the Motion emphasised twice the term 'Islamophobia' ('the hate to Islam', per my wildest guess), but not any 'hate' to other religion, it is likely that the proposer of the Motion believes that Islam is the largest victim of hate crime. Is there any sufficient evidence proving that?
According to Statistics Canada, in 2013 there were 326 police-reported hate crimes motivated by hatred of a religion or religious group. The hate-motivated crimes targeting the Muslim religion reported by police in 2013 is not of the biggest number, comparing to hate crimes targeting other religions.
4. Motion 103 is a threat to fundamental human rights and freedoms of Canadians, in that:
- "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication" are the fundamental freedoms of Canadians, as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- The quoted needs to 'quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear', and to 'condemn Islamophobia...', coupled with the ambiguous terms of 'hate' and 'Islamophobia', will become a perfect formula to suppress the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression", and to exert excessive censorship to the news and media;
And to be honest, the very thought of my government to 'quell' my feelings of 'hate and fear' just sends a tingling sensation up my spine. As a human being, I have my rights to my own feelings, be it happiness, love, hate, and fear. The idea of the government manipulating my feelings, and suppressing the expression of my feelings just reminds me of fascism and communism, not a democratic Canada as a beacon of freedom and liberty respected by the whole world.
I think people should learn from history: Hitler first managed to deprive the people of basic civil rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech. That is how The Nazi Terror Begins. No matter how lofty and how innocent the motives might be, the infringement of civil liberties and freedoms will render detrimental, if not disastrous consequences in the end.
I firmly believe that, as a democratic government, the Government of Canada must encourage the solidarity and safety for all its citizens, but not to legislate them at the expense of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
I am sure that you have heard the outcries of concerns from many Canadians, in light of the Motion 103, for good reasons.
As some of my fellow Canadians put it, there is no greater recipe for the ultimate destruction of Canada and its’ culture than Motion 103. Naturally there are those who seek to limit the ability of people of different opinions to speak out. Once you cannot speak out, your voice is gone. Anything you say can and will be held against you. Fear will overtake you as you realize your ability to defend the freedom of yourself, your family, your neighborhood, your town, and your country, is gone. Once it is gone it is very hard to get back, historically it involves significant amounts of fighting and blood to regain it.
With great power comes great responsibility. As selected by the people to serve the people, my dear Members of Parliament, please listen to the people, and act with foresight, instead of short-sightedness. If you want to keep freedom as a treasure to pass on to your children and grandchildren, so that they will not have to take up arms later, you only have to say NO to this Motion, and any other efforts that will take away the people's freedom!
Thank you for reading!
xxx更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net