Pubdate: Mon, 25 May 2009
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.thespec.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Howard Elliott
Note: Editorials are written by members of the editorial board. They 
represent the position of the newspaper, not necessarily the individual author.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada)

BAD IDEA AIRED IN TORY RACE

The race for the leadership of Ontario's Conservative party, rather a 
snore until now, just got a lot more interesting. Not one, but two of 
the candidates say they'd gut the province's human-rights protection 
agencies. Self-described dark horse Randy Hillier would get rid of 
both the Human Rights Commission, which looks into systemic 
discrimination, and the Human Rights Tribunal, which adjudicates 
individual complaints of discrimination. Perceived front-runner Tim 
Hudak would be marginally more gentle, scrapping the tribunal and 
reducing the commission to a public education role.

No sensible source gives Hillier, who calls himself a libertarian, a 
chance of winning. But Niagara MPP Hudak is another matter. This part 
of his platform sets up a battle with his main challenger, Christine Elliott.

A little perspective is called for. This isn't an election. What 
Hudak is trying to do is separate the Conservatives from the John 
Tory-led version, which the party brain trust now thinks was too Red 
Tory, fighting with the Liberals for space in the moderate middle. 
But the fact that Hudak is putting this idea front and centre in his 
leadership run doesn't mean it would remain there in an election 
campaign. His job now is to generate as much support as possible, and 
that means he needs the muscle of the far-right segment of the party. 
If and when he does win the party leadership, his job changes to 
trying to get the party in power. And the Conservatives are not going 
to get into power by gutting the agencies that protect individual 
rights and freedoms.

Critics of the human rights protection system say it's broken and is 
running amok. While that's overstating it, there's no doubt there are 
serious problems.  Consider, for example, the case of the Burlington 
club owner successfully prosecuted and forced to allow a patron to 
smoke marijuana for medical reasons in close proximity to other 
patrons who find the smoke and activity offensive.

Situations such as this are not uncommon, and suggest there are cases 
where human rights apparatus is used unwisely and inappropriately. So 
by all means, fix the problem. Ensure the human rights protection 
system is objective, not ideologically driven, transparent, timely 
and even-handed. But killing it altogether, which is what Hudak is 
effectively saying, is such a bad idea it's almost funny. Ironically, 
Hudak seems to be forgetting that it was the Conservative 
administration of John Robarts that put in place measures to protect 
"people who are vulnerable and who lack the means to fight for their 
rights through the costly legal process." If Hudak really doesn't 
think that philosophy is as valid today as it was back in 1962 when 
it was introduced, he's not ready to be premier.

And if he's foolish enough to make this a plank in an election 
platform, he'd be wise to recall what happened to his party when John 
Tory unwisely made public funding for faith-based private schools a 
key policy in the last provincial election. Ontarians know and 
cherish the core values that make this a great place to live and 
work. They won't elect someone who doesn't share those values.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake