Supreme Court to hear anti-gay activist's case

Canada's highest court will hear the case of a former Regina man accused of promoting hatred against gays.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission to appeal a lower court decision on the case of Bill Whatcott.

In 2001 and 2002, Whatcott, a member of the Christian Truth Activists group, distributed flyers in Saskatoon and Regina, some of them saying schoolchildren were being taught propaganda about gay people.

"Our children will pay the price in disease, death, abuse and ultimately eternal judgment if we do not say no to the sodomite desire to socialize your children into accepting something that is clearly wrong," one of the pamphlets said.

Four individuals complained to the Human Rights Commission that the flyers promoted hatred, and unfairly targeted them because of their sexual orientation.

Whatcott, a longtime Saskatchewan resident who in recent years also lived in Alberta, argued he was opposed to gay activity, not gay people.

The case went through several hearings and court sessions, spread over a decade.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled earlier this February that the pamphlets didn't violate the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code because it was protected under freedom of expression.

A date for Ottawa's Supreme Court case hasn't yet been set.