Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Canada vs. Ann Coulter

Canadian media is buzzing about Ann Coulter and her speaking engagements at Canadian universities, and the controversy that has ensued. It began when Coulter was sent a letter from the President of the University of Ottawa, informing her of Canada’s laws on hate speech differing from the United States. The letter was leaked to the media, and Coulter claimed she was being threatened for jail time for something that had not occurred, and was herself a victim of hate speech. Students protested the night the speech was supposed to occur, and the event was eventually cancelled for safety. This all happened the day after Coulter’s speech at Western, where she told a Muslim student to “ride a camel”.
Coulter is making many remarks on the state of Canada’s free speech laws, and is claiming she will file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in regards to the letter from the University of Ottawa. While Ann Coulter has the right to speak where ever she wants, the students have just as much right to protest. Considering Coulter’s previous comments, was it wrong for the university to send her that letter? Is she right in claiming she was treated differently from other controversial speakers because she is a Republican? Or was the university just informing Coulter as to what would and would not be tolerated in regards to hate speech, as a way of protecting their diverse student population?

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