Free speech: where are the limits?

CBC Radio | Posted: January 23, 2015 8:49 PM | Last Updated: January 25, 2015

Image | FRANCE-SHOOTING/BELGIUM

Caption: (REUTERS/Francois Lenoir)

Free-speech: The Charlie Hebdo killings have made freedom of speech a hot topic.

At a time when free speech is being stoutly defended, some governments are cracking down on those promoting Jihadist ideas, and universities increasingly put limits on certain kinds of speech. Where do you draw the line?

GUESTS & LINKS
TWITTER & EMAIL
DOWNLOAD MP3 (right-click, choose 'Save Target/Link As')

INTRODUCTION

Freedom of speech ...just how free it should be?

The Charlie Hebdo killings brought a tide of support for the principle of freedom of speech. Millions marched to demonstrate their solidarity with the satirical magazine that makes its living from publishing controversial cartoons. For decades their caricatures have poked fun at Muslims, Jews and Christians ...and a whole range of other political and social targets.

But despite the world-wide outpouring of support for the magazine and for free speech, some governments understandably decided to crack down on people espousing Jihadist ideas, and their websites. And at the same time other opinion leaders, including the Pope, advocated restraint and a greater sensitivity toward religions. Some think that restraint should go one step further and be written into law.

So, where do you draw the line in law? Should the principle of free-speech include freedom to insult? Should it include freedom to advocate violence?

Free-speech has rarely been supported in the West without exceptions and limitations. Now those limits are very much up for debate.

Universities once considered the ideal place to engage in discussion and examination of ideas - ideas such as these - have more frequently been in the news for shutting down debate of controversial ideas. Small organized groups of students decide that a visiting speaker will raise ideas they don't like, so they mount a protest and block the speech. Some say it's not just the students..... but the schools themselves have become institutions increasingly devoted to homogenizing ideas, or acting as gatekeepers determining which ideas are acceptable. Do you agree? Is this a reflection of what the broader public wants? Are Canadians uncomfortable with certain ideas and consequently feel they should be banned from public discussion?

Do you draw a line between advocating hatred towards a certain group and advocating violence toward that group? What about advocating hatred toward a certain individual or towards certain ideas or even whole cultures?

Our question today: "Should there be limits to free-speech?"

GUESTS

Tarek Fatah
Columnist, broadcaster and award-winning author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State and The Jew is Not My Enemy
Twitter: @TarekFatah

Marvin Kurz
National Legal Counsel for B'nai Brith and its League for Human Rights
Twitter: @bnaibrithcanada

John Carpay
Civil rights lawyer and President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Calgary
Twitter: @JCCFCanada

Cara Zwibel
Lawyer and Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Twitter: @CaraZwibel