CHRC Appeals For Support
In August 2009, Jennifer Lynch, the chief commissioner of the CHRC, told the Canadian Bar Association's annual meeting that opponents of rights bodies have successfully created a "chill" that makes it difficult for anyone to defend those bodies without also becoming a target and asked for those in attendance to write "letters to correct misinformation." Lynch told the CBA that rights commissions represent an important component of the justice system, giving society's "most vulnerable" minority groups access to a mechanism to deal with alleged rights violations. She added that some of the criticisms against the CHRC have been "troubling" and "at times scary," and read outloud a graphic anonymous letter she received stating that she should be shot dead.
Although Lynch did not identify her critics, the National Post noted that she has previously complained about attacks against her by Mark Steyn, political commentator Ezra Levant, and Conservative Member of Parliament Russ Hiebert.
Read more about this topic: Canadian Human Rights Commission Free Speech Controversy
Famous quotes containing the words appeals and/or support:
“The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don’t go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making enormously wealthy. It’s always so.”
—Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894–1961)
“The confirmation of Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative voices to be added to the [Supreme] Court in recent memory, carries a sobering message for the African- American community.... As he begins to make his mark upon the lives of African Americans, we must acknowledge that his successful nomination is due in no small measure to the support he received from black Americans.”
—Kimberly Crenshaw (b. 1959)