September 2008
Maclean’s magazine is pleased that the Canadian Human Rights Commission has
dismissed the complaint brought against it by the Canadian Islamic Congress. The
decision is in keeping with our long-standing position that the article in
question, “The Future Belongs to Islam,” an excerpt from Mark Steyn’s
best-selling book America Alone, was a worthy piece of commentary on important
geopolitical issues, entirely within the bounds of normal journalistic practice.
Though gratified by the decision, Maclean’s continues to assert that no human
rights commission, whether at the federal or provincial level, has the mandate
or the expertise to monitor, inquire into, or assess the editorial decisions of
the nation’s media. And we continue to have grave concerns about a system of
complaint and adjudication that allows a media outlet to be pursued in multiple
jurisdictions on the same complaint, brought by the same complainants,
subjecting it to costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to say nothing of
the inconvenience. We enthusiastically support those parliamentarians who are
calling for legislative review of the commissions with regard to speech issues.
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