JURIST Special Guest Columnist
Faisal Joseph, counsel for a group of Canadian law students who recently filed human rights complaints against the Canadian newsmagazine
Maclean's for its refusal to publish a response to a string of articles allegedly targeting Muslim Canadians, says that a gaping hole in the Ontario Human Rights Code leaves minority groups having little or no public voice without a remedy for redressing group defamation and racism disseminated in the mass media ...
American politics, more specifically the showdown between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have captured the imagination of the world at a level rarely seen in recent decades. Canada is no exception.
Few presidential contests have been followed north of the border with such detailed interest. And it's no wonder. Mr. Obama's "Yes We Can" campaign has captured the hearts and minds of young and old, black and white, rich and poor. Virtually everyone can find something to focus on for the upcoming American election.
The Muslim community has also found something to focus on, but unfortunately, it has been rather unpleasant - the tactic of associating Mr. Obama with Muslims in efforts to derail the "Obamamania" phenomenon, notwithstanding his sincere devotion to his Christian faith.
Examples of this negative-association tactic have included photographs of a younger Obama in the white turban and robes of a Somalian elder during a visit to Kenya and talk show host Bill Cunningham's pointed emphasis on Mr. Obama's middle name, Hussein. Now in the heat of an election, Obama has been introduced as “Osama” a not so subtle reference to Osama bin Laden. The message is clear: perceived ties to Muslims are a clear liability when fighting for the hearts and minds of the Western world.
The fact of racism against Muslims can no longer be denied. In a 2004 Heritage Canada survey, 80% of Canadians agreed that Muslims and Arabs are the main targets of discrimination in Canada today.
The media cannot shy away from its contributory role in the discrimination of Muslims any longer. As the Ontario Human Rights Commission said in a historic public statement issued last week: "the media has a significant role to play in either combating societal racism or refraining from communicating and reproducing it."
The statement was the result of human rights complaints filed by my clients - the Canadian Islamic Congress and a group of Osgoode Hall law students - against
Maclean's magazine for its refusal to publish a mutually acceptable response to just one of more than twenty Islamophobic articles published between January 2005 and July 2007. Among others, these articles allege that "enough" Muslims share the basic objectives of terrorists; refer to Muslims as "sheep-shaggers"; and allege an impending, "bloody" Muslim takeover of the West.
In response to the complaints, the Commission exercised its mandate to speak out against actions it saw as "inconsistent with the spirit of the [Ontario Human Rights] Code." In doing so, the Commission strongly condemned "the targeting of Muslims, Arabs, [and] South Asians ... by the media as being inconsistent with the values enshrined in the Code."
In particular, the Commission expressed "serious concerns about the content of a number of articles concerning Muslims that have been published by
Maclean's Magazine and other media outlets," noting that "this type of media coverage has been identified as contributing to Islamophobia and promoting social intolerance towards Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Canadians."
While recognizing the importance of the freedom of expression, the OHRC also stated that it could not be used as a guise to target vulnerable groups and for the dissemination of xenophobic opinions.
Unfortunately, notwithstanding their recognition of the "Islamophobic" content of several articles published by
Maclean's, the Commission was unable to proceed with my clients' complaints because s. 13(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code does not cover the content of newspapers and magazines. This gaping hole in the Code leaves minority groups, with little or no public voice, without a remedy for redressing group defamation and racism disseminated in our mass media.
Alternative venues to combat media-promulgated racism are conspicuously limited. Yes, Canada has criminal hate speech laws, but when the sources of hate speech are found in our own print and broadcast journalism, they provide little or no protection to minorities. All hate speech prosecutions require the Attorney General's consent - an unlikely event if the potential defendant is a large media organization.
Provincial press councils provide an avenue for reader complaints, but membership is voluntary and many offending media organizations, such as
Maclean's, do not subscribe to them.
In principle, we could encourage more and better speech to counter the effects of prejudicial and hateful speech. In practice, a review of major Canadian publications indicates that the "more and better speech" is disturbingly scarce. When it comes to Muslims, right-wing journalists across the country have plenty to say. But who is providing the "more and better speech" to mitigate their toxic effects? The "more and better speech" formula fails marginalized minorities - a lesson that Canadian Muslims have painfully learned. In my clients' case,
Maclean's preferred bankruptcy to publishing a mutually acceptable response to one of over twenty Islamophobic articles published in two-and-a-half years.
Given the lack of viable alternatives, the Commission must be lauded for its courageous stance against media-promulgated racism and Islamophobia. Its clear and unambiguous public statement is a source of hope for minorities, particularly Muslims, who have consistently received the short-end of the media stick. A powerful and respected public institution has spoken out against the persistent denigration of the Muslim community in our mass media. We can only hope positive change is on its way.
Faisal Joseph is a human rights advocate and litigation lawyer based in London, Ontario, Canada.
