Too big for their britches

Vincent J. Curtis

5 Dec 21

RE: Human rights commission ponders ‘stronger action’ News item by Katrina Clarke.  The Hamilton Spectator 3 Dec 21.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a tribunal, laughably named the Ontario Human Rights Commission, pronounced upon Hamilton’s embattled School Trustee Carole Paikin Nolan.  Speaking in general terms because Bills of Attainder are bad form nowadays, to say nothing of anti-Semitism, ORHC chief commissioner Patricia McGuire expresses ‘concern’ over reports of trustees engaging in homophobic, Islamophobic, and racist behaviour in the form of making comments.  Since making comments of these sorts are very serious violations of the trustee’s code of conduct, stronger measures such as removal from office may be necessary where permitted by law.

(Where does the ORHC get the idea that it needs to intervene in the debates of democratically elected Boards and Councils?  Where does it get the idea that its standards of decorum are the right ones, and those who violate them are open to removal from office?  The question of who decides these matters are left unanswered, and the law under which the ‘good behavior’ of trusteed and councillors is adjudicated would be by definition anti-democratic.  No unapproved words or viewpoints would be tolerated, and violations would be subject to removal.  Only unelected bureaucrats used to power and to subject people to their opinions to make such ridiculous assertions.  But, I digress.)

Among other things, Paikin Miller is accused of making anti-Muslim remarks, and making comments to the effect that “all lives matter.”  (Never mind for the moment the intellectual corruption of the lawyers reaching these conclusions.)  Serious breaches of decorum indeed, and luckily Paikin Miller never made the ‘okay’ hand gesture or she’d be doomed!  But since when are matters of politeness grounds for removal, especially when conformance to progressive standards determines what’s polite and what isn’t?  The Board Chair Alex Johnstone was also condemned for not bringing the gavel down on Paikin Miller as she was making the allegedly untoward remarks.  Johnstone must have been under the mistaken impression at the time that she was hearing merely robust debate.

These effete bureaucrats need lessons in the robustness of representative democracy, and of debate.  (Of course, progressives don’t believe in debate.  You simply label your opponent a racist and that’s it.  Notice, that’s what’s being done here.)  If a trustee represents a district of nothing but white supremacists, that viewpoint has a right to be aired at Board meetings.  And when a student trustee who represents nothing but her own immature self is contradicted and confronted with opposing viewpoints by an exhausted Jewish grandmother annoyed at the stupidity, these are not breaches of decorum.  Elected officials simply can’t be removed from office for expressing opinions a simple majority finds unpleasant.  That’s anti-democratic.

The OHRC can’t hide its anti-Semitism, nor Patricia McGuire her sheer cattiness.

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