Americans, Stay Away!

The Boston Globe (not exactly a right-wing paper) warns Democrats away from moving to Canada with a list of seven things to consider. Among them:

...4. How do you like your free speech -- well chilled? Canada has no First Amendment and adheres to primitive British-style libel laws.

Here is a hilarious definition of defamation la Canadienne, from the Media Libel website: ''A defamatory statement exists if the publication tends to lower the plaintiff's reputation in the estimation of those who are commonly referred to as 'right thinking' members of society."

(Some similar, if angrier thoughts on the subject from Mike.)

This, of course, reminds me specifically of the ridiculous debacle a few weeks (months?) ago, when one Warren Kinsella threatened legal action against a number of blogs if they didn't take down posts that he considered libellous (whether or not they were, it seems, was beside the point). Free speech in Canada is certainly under attack, and not only by bloggers who've become a little too sensitive (and not a little hypocritical). I must echo the sentiments (if not the snarkiness) of the Boston Globe piece: Democrats, you'll find that Canada ain't all it's cracked up to be.
-- posted by Austin @ 11:47 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶