CONTROVERSIAL RIGHT-WING U.S. FIREBRAND ANN COULTER WILL FILE GRIEVANCE WITH RIGHTS PANEL

By Kenyon Wallace, National PostMarch 23, 2010


As U.S. pundit Ann Coulter prepares to visit Canada this week, a senior University of Ottawa administrator has warned her to use "restraint, respect and consideration" when speaking at the school.

As U.S. pundit Ann Coulter prepares to visit Canada this week, a senior University of Ottawa administrator has warned her to use "restraint, respect and consideration" when speaking at the school.
Photograph by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC/Reuters,

London, Ont. — Inflammatory right-wing pundit Ann Coulter took aim at a University of Ottawa administrator Monday night, saying an e-mail from the school warning her to use “restraint, respect and consideration” when addressing Ontario students during a speaking tour this week made her a victim of a “hate crime.”

Speaking to students and academics at the University of Western Ontario Monday, Coulter said the e-mail sent to her Friday by Francois Houle, vice-president academic and provost of the University of Ottawa, targeted her as a member of an identifiable group and as such, she will be filing a complaint with the Human Rights Commission alleging hate speech.

“I’m sure the Human Rights Commission will get to the bottom of it,” Coulter said to loud cheers from the 800-strong audience. “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.”

In Houle’s e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by the National Post, the administrator urges Coulter to weigh her words with “respect and civility in mind” when she speaks at the University of Ottawa campus Tuesday.

“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.”

Houle goes on: “Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges.”

Ezra Levant, lawyer and former publisher of the Western Standard magazine, spoke before Coulter on Monday and called Houle’s letter a “veiled threat.” Seamus Wolfe, the president of the University of Ottawa’s student federation, has already said that Coulter is not welcome on campus and that he is trying to work with the administration to find a venue for her speech elsewhere.

The administration, however, has said it does not object to the fiery pundit’s appearance on campus.

Coulter’s targeting of the University of Ottawa administration and Canada’s Human Rights Commissions came at the end of a half-hour speech that attacked political correctness in the United States and the mainstream media, which she said was uncritical of the Obama administration and unfairly biased against conservatives.

“It’s almost like there is one standard for Conservatives and one completely different one for Liberals,” Coulter told the crowd, which alternated from cheering to booing depending on the topic of discussion, which ranged from gay marriage, illegal immigration to Barack Obama’s new health-care bill.

“A word is either offensive or it’s not. In a world of political correctness, all words are banned unless they’re used against conservatives.”

At one point she criticized gays for comparing their plight in the U.S. with the hardships experienced by blacks during the civil rights movement. She also called Mr. Obama the “first 100 per cent politically correct president.”

Coulter began her speech to a standing ovation from about three-quarters of the crowd and said she harboured no hard feelings about the U.S. hockey team’s loss to Canada at the Winter Olympics.

Apart from her anger toward the University of Ottawa and the human rights commissions, Coulter was uncritical of Canada, unlike past comments she has made about this country.

Even though Coulter is not a Canadian citizen, Levant, who has been involved in human rights law cases, said it would not be “outlandish” for Coulter to file a complaint against the University of Ottawa, especially in light of the 1985 Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration case.

The decision in that case, considered a leading constitutional decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, said that foreign nationals are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

National Post