The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) condemned today that the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) will be closing its branch in Halifax. PSAC's press release says that CHRC offices in Toronto and Vancouver will also close, even though these 3 branches received "70 per cent of all signed complaints" to the Commission in 2008. 

PSAC, which represents employees of the Commission, says that the closures "will have a particular impact on racialized people and recent immigrants. In many cases, the closures will make it much more difficult to challenge both systemic abuses and individual instances of discrimination."

Right-wing attacks on the CHRC have resurfaced recently as American Islamophobe Ann Coulter claims she will file a complaint to the Commission against the University of Ottawa relating to her cancellation of a speaking event there. Coulter's spokespersons claimed they cancelled the appearance due to "violence" in the crowd of two thousand that had come to protest her. (Although Ottawa police stated there was no violence and no one was arrested.)    

A common conservative criticism of the commission is that it limits free speech, most often in cases when hate speech or incitement to violence is in question. Coulter, who regularly makes racist remarks against muslims in particular, had been warned by the University before her Ottawa speech about Canada's hate laws.

(It should be noted that while much mainstream debate seems to be concerned about whether Coulter's 'right to free speech' was violated - by her own decision to cancel her speech - not much is said about a 17(!)-year-old muslim's right not to be subjected to public racial slurs followed by applause. Here's a good op-ed in the Vancouver Sun on the issue.)

Halifax had its own incident of shutting down a racist speaker in 2007, when Jared Taylor of American Renaissance magazine was prevented from speaking by a crowd of protesters. (I can't find a link to a story on this, but here's a post from a forum.) He later quietly found his way back to a local radio station to debate local philosophy professor Peter March.

Could cuts to the CHRC inspire more organized protests not just against high-profile bigots like Taylor and Coulter, but against racism in general?