The bizarre story emerging from the small Northern Ontario township of Emo is as disturbing as it is Orwellian.
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As Postmedia columnist Joe Warmington has reported, Emo Mayor Harold McQuaker has been fined $5,000 by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (OHRT) for refusing to fly a Pride flag on a non-existent flagpole in June. He was also ordered to attend a human rights training course. The township was ordered to pay $15,000.
McQuaker refused to pay or attend the training course, whereupon his bank account was garnisheed. That’s rewriting the old joke: When a fraudster goes into your bank account and takes $5,000, it’s called theft. When a government agency does it, it’s called a human rights judgment.
This isn’t about LGBTQ rights. This is about freedom of speech and the consequences one should pay. And it’s about the precedent it sets, whereby other organizations can use a similar route to fundraise. McQuaker is an elected official. There are consequences for his actions. At the next election, voters can remove him from office if they don’t like his actions.
Borderline Pride, the agency that made the complaint, points to letters to the editor McQuaker wrote to local newspapers: “Isn’t it funny how we have all kinds of cash to spend on same-sex crap and gun control,” as well as, “If a free vote had been allowed instead of party leaders forcing MPs to their way, Mr. Harper would have defeated homosexual legislation.”
You may disagree with those comments. They may be hurtful. But they aren’t hateful. In this country, you have a constitutional right to offensive opinions.
Invading individuals’ bank accounts is becoming the Canadian way. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government used the same invasive tactic, implementing the Emergencies Act in 2022. It froze bank accounts of convoy protesters without a court order.
The elected mayor of a municipality should have the right to make decisions on behalf of his constituents without fear that his personal bank account will be raided.
The OHRT is not elected. It should seek a court order before enforcing the fine. Let a judge decide what’s fair. That’s the Canadian way.
And if Borderline Pride members want to run Emo, they should take the democratic route and run for election.