Richard Warman
Encyclopedia
Richard Warman is an Ottawa
-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission
(CHRC) from July 2002 until March 2004. He is best known as the primary instigator of actions related to Internet content under Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act
against people including white supremacists
and neo-Nazis
.
Warman wrote a detailed report on Internet hate in Canada for B'nai Brith's Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, and has been the target of anti-Semitic smears himself, though he is not Jewish. He received the Saul Hayes Human Rights Award from the Canadian Jewish Congress
in June 2007 for "distinguished service to the cause of human rights".
, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Windsor
, and a Masters of Law from McGill University
.
and its leader Melissa Guille
; Jason Ouwendyk
and the Northern Alliance; Marc Lemire
; Tomasz Winnicki
; Alex Kulbashian
and James Scott Richardson
of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party; Craig Harrison; Terry Tremaine
;Glenn Bahr
, Peter Kouba
, Jessica Beaumont and Ciaran Paul Donnelly, all formerly with the group Western Canada For Us; Liz Lampman; Fred Kyburz; and, Eldon Warman.
In addition to Kyburz and Eldon Warman, Warman also raised concerns about Wally Dove, another member of the Canadian detax movement who was attempting to use his qualifications as a Certified General Accountant (CGA) to promote unlawful tax evasion schemes. The Chartered General Accountants of Ontario later revoked Dove's CGA and obtained an injunction ordering him to stop claiming to be a CGA thereafter.
(CHRT), and two more have been successfully mediated after the individuals had left the neo-Nazi movement and renounced their beliefs.
The CHRT has consistently upheld Warman's complaints against the following individuals and groups:
Fred Kyburz;
Eldon Warman;
Alexan Kulbashian, James Scott Richardson
and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
, Affordable-space.com; Tomasz Winnicki
; Craig Harrison
(for postings on Marc Lemire
's Freedomsite); Peter Kouba; Glenn Bahr
and Western Canada For Us
; Terry Tremaine
.; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party
; and Jessica Beaumont.
, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal member Athanasios Hadjis found Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act to be unconstitutional, as it infringed unjustifiably on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee of freedom of expression. Hadjis thus declined to impose a penalty on Lemire. As Hadjis is not a judge and the tribunal is not a court, his decision does not carry sufficient weight to strike down the section as ultra vires. As a result, the ruling is not binding beyond Lemire. However, the Tribunal has suspended further hearings in some active cases while awaiting a higher court ruling in Lemire.
On October 1, 2009, the Commission appealed the decision in Lemire to the Federal Court. The Canadian government has chosen not to intervene in the Federal Court case, although it had defended the constitutionality of Section 13(1) before the Tribunal. A trial date in Federal Court has not yet been set.
of the Canadian Jewish Congress
described as a "murder warrant" against Warman by US neo-Nazi Bill White. In refusing the initial ex parte
application, the CRTC stated:
White was subsequently indicted by a US grand jury for the death threats against Warman and others and remains in custody pending trial. The grand jury heard testimony from both Bernie Farber and Warman. Acting U.S. attorney Julia Dudley said some lines had clearly been crossed, as she announced the charges against Mr. White. “When freedom of speech turns into threats against innocent people, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement community to intervene and protect its citizens,” she said.
for libel, following the publication of Mr. Icke's book "Children of the Matrix". Warman also sued the publishers and some distributors of the book. Warman requested that that British Columbia Libraries Association remove the book from its collection. Fearing litigation, the Library Association complied with the request. B.C. Library Association member Ann Curry commented that “in the Warman case, libraries had to comply with Mr. Warman’s request or possibly face liability.” In 2004 the B.C. Government passed legislation to protect libraries from defamation suits if they distribute materials that can be considered defamatory.
Warman has also sued Jason Ouwendyk
and his group the Northern Alliance for libel - a case that was suspended when Ouwendyk sought bankruptcy protection and agreed to pay Warman damages as part of his proposal to creditors.
Warman sued Paul Fromm and his Canadian Association for Free Expression
for libeling him in various Internet posts. On November 23, 2007, Ontario Superior Court Justice Monique Métivier ruled in Warman's favour and ordered Fromm to pay Warman $30,000 in damages, and to post full retractions within ten days on all the websites on which he posted the defamatory comments. Métivier found that Fromm posted statements about Warman "either knowing the fundamental falseness of the accusations he levelled at Warman, or being reckless as to the truth of these." The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the judgement and added $10,000 in costs against Fromm and his group. The Supreme Court of Canada later refused to give them leave to appeal further and again awarded costs against Fromm and his group.
In April 2008, Warman launched a libel suit against the National Post Company, National Post columnist Jonathan Kay, and Canadian bloggers - Ezra Levant
, Kate McMillan and her blog Small Dead Animals, Kathy Shaidle
and her blog Five Feet of Fury, Mark Fournier and Constance Wilkins-Fournier and their blog Free Dominion
.The reason for the suit was that the newspaper, quoting an expert hired by Mark Lemire as part of his lawsuit with Warman, said that Warman was the author of a 2003 internet post regarding Canadian Senator Anne Cools that used racist and sexist epithets. Warman denied that he was the author of the post and sued for libel damages from those who posted the information. The National Post and Kay apologized and retracted its statement and settled out of court with Warman. The remaining litigants are pursuing the case.
The owners of the Free Dominion are also involved in another litigation suit with Warman. Warman sued Constance Wilkins-Fournier, Mark Fournier and eight John Does for libel. Warman asked the court to order the Fourniers to release information which would lead to the identification of the eight John Does. The original court decision compelled them to do so; however on appeal, the Divisional Court overturned this decision unless Warman could prove a prima facie case against the John Does before their information was released. As of July 2010, the matter was still before the courts.
Warman was awarded $50,000 in damages in 2008 after a successful suit for defamation, assault, and invasion of privacy against Albertan William Grosvenor. Grosvenor had sent emails and made a variety of posts over the course of the two prior following Warman's human rights complaint against Grosvenor. The posts variously threatened Warman, called for violence against him, and attempted to reveal where he lived. Warman would have pursued damages of $175,000, but waived the larger claim so that he could proceed under simplified rules of court.
candidate in the 1997 federal election
in the Windsor West
riding, and in the 2000 federal election
in Ottawa—Orléans
, placing fifth on both occasions. He ran as the Green Party of Ontario
candidate in the 1995 Ontario provincial election
in Simcoe Centre, placing fifth, and in 1999
in Ottawa West—Nepean
, placing fourth.
In 2006, Warman contributed to the Renewal Commission of the Liberal Party of Canada
's Report on Human Rights. He is also one of the backers of the reward fund established by the Assembly of First Nations
in relation to the Gatineau murder of Kelly Morrisseau.
posting material inciting the murder of the Federal Court judge, employees of the Canadian Human Right Commission, and Warman (who had testified against Winnicki at the contempt of court hearing). Linder suggested on the main VNN website and in a VNN Internet radio broadcast that their killing would be a "genuine act of patriotism." Other individuals posted similar violent rhetoric to the VNN Internet forum. Both the main VNN website and the VNN forum were temporarily shut down on July 26, 2006 by their website hosting company's upstream provider after being contacted about the threats.
Butler also reported:
Blog
ger and former magazine publisher Ezra Levant
, who is being sued by Warman and others for libel, has argued that Warman's actions as a plaintiff before the Canadian Human Rights Commissions are tantamount to censorship in the name of human rights. Levant also says the Warman's libel lawsuits generally are "nuisance suit[s]" that are part of Warman's "maximum disruption" policy.
Maclean's
, which had been the subject of an unrelated human rights complaint concerning hate speech, has reported that "Richard Warman says he's fighting hate. Critics say free speech is the real victim." That article included commentary or allegations that:
At the conclusion of his complaint against Jason Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance, in March 2009, the CHRT criticized Warman for having posted messages on neo-Nazi sites, as if in agreement with other racist and antisemitic posts. During the hearing, Mr. Warman initially denied that he was the individual who had made the posts under the pseudonyms Axetogrind and Pogue Mahone. In one post, in response to a comment in January 2005 about American neo-Nazi leader Jeff Schoep, Warman wrote, "Keep up the good work Commander Schoep!". The CHRT ruled that Warman's posts, could have precipitated further hate messages from forum members, and that “his participation on Internet sites similar to the Northern Alliance is both disappointing and disturbing and it diminishes his credibility.” The CHRT therefore did not prescribe any penalties beyond a cease and desist order against Mr. Ouwendyk. In his defence, Warman said his posts had helped him identify members of the neo-Nazi movement, and that at the time there was no "road map" for such investigations. "With hindsight, he said, "things might have been done differently today."
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission
Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission is a quasi-judicial body that was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the Canadian Human Rights Act to investigate and try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the provision of services within federal...
(CHRC) from July 2002 until March 2004. He is best known as the primary instigator of actions related to Internet content under Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act
Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act is a statute originally passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be victims of discriminatory practices based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or...
against people including white supremacists
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
and neo-Nazis
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
.
Warman wrote a detailed report on Internet hate in Canada for B'nai Brith's Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, and has been the target of anti-Semitic smears himself, though he is not Jewish. He received the Saul Hayes Human Rights Award from the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
in June 2007 for "distinguished service to the cause of human rights".
Education
Warman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Queen's UniversityQueen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
, and a Masters of Law from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Human Rights Commissions
Warman has initiated a large number of complaints against groups and individuals alleging violations of Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. He has been identified as the primary complaintant under this provision. His targets include the Canadian Heritage AllianceCanadian Heritage Alliance
The Canadian Heritage Alliance is a Canadian white supremacist group founded in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Detective Terry Murphy of London's Hate Crime Unit alleged that the group had links with the Heritage Front and the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge-based Tri-City Skins.Its leader, Melissa...
and its leader Melissa Guille
Melissa Guille
Melissa Guille is a white supremacist and the leader of the Canadian Heritage Alliance. Founded in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the group, which has been characterised as white supremacist, was accused of having links with the Heritage Front and the Kitchener based Tri-City Skins.In 2001,...
; Jason Ouwendyk
Jason Ouwendyk
Jason Ouwendyk was a figure in Canadian white-supremacist movement. He is the former spokesman of the Northern Alliance. Ouwendyk assumed the role with the Northern Alliance soon after group founder Raphael Bergmann left the group....
and the Northern Alliance; Marc Lemire
Marc Lemire
Marc Lemire is a figure in the Canadian white supremacist movement. He works closely with leader Paul Fromm, and is the webmaster of the Hamilton, Ontario-based Freedom-Site which he began in 1996. He has been called a "bigot" by Jonathan Kay of the National Post...
; Tomasz Winnicki
Tomasz Winnicki
Tomasz Winnicki is a Polish-Canadian white supremacist based in London, Ontario. He was the subject of complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for his activities, and has also faced criminal charges on weapons offences...
; Alex Kulbashian
Alex Kulbashian
Alexan Kulbashian , also known as Alex Krause, is a Canadian white supremacist who has been called a neo-Nazi by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Kulbashian jointly ran the now-defunct white supremacist website of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team group which was based in Ontario, Canada...
and James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson, is a Canadian white supremacist and was a member of the Tri-City Skins, associate of Alex Kulbashian of Toronto, and leader of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team...
of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party; Craig Harrison; Terry Tremaine
Terry Tremaine
Terrence Cecil Tremaine is the founder and national director of the National-Socialist Party of Canada. He is a White Nationalist organizer who has posted on White Nationalist web forums such as Stormfront and other websites using the screen name “mathdoktor99,” and on other websites as...
;Glenn Bahr
Glenn Bahr
Glenn Bahr is a Canadian neo-Nazi and was one of the founders of Western Canada For Us , a now defunct racist group based in Edmonton, Alberta...
, Peter Kouba
Peter Kouba
Peter Kouba was one of the co-founders of the now defunct Alberta-based white nationalist group Western Canada For Us . Kouba, along with Glenn Bahr started the group in February 2004...
, Jessica Beaumont and Ciaran Paul Donnelly, all formerly with the group Western Canada For Us; Liz Lampman; Fred Kyburz; and, Eldon Warman.
In addition to Kyburz and Eldon Warman, Warman also raised concerns about Wally Dove, another member of the Canadian detax movement who was attempting to use his qualifications as a Certified General Accountant (CGA) to promote unlawful tax evasion schemes. The Chartered General Accountants of Ontario later revoked Dove's CGA and obtained an injunction ordering him to stop claiming to be a CGA thereafter.
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Warman has won ten of the cases he has brought before the Canadian Human Rights TribunalCanadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 by the Canadian Human Rights Act. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and is independent of the Canadian Human Rights Commission which refers cases to it for adjudication under the Act.The Tribunal...
(CHRT), and two more have been successfully mediated after the individuals had left the neo-Nazi movement and renounced their beliefs.
The CHRT has consistently upheld Warman's complaints against the following individuals and groups:
Fred Kyburz;
Eldon Warman;
Alexan Kulbashian, James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson
James Scott Richardson, is a Canadian white supremacist and was a member of the Tri-City Skins, associate of Alex Kulbashian of Toronto, and leader of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team...
and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team
The Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team was an Ontario-based white power website that was operated by Alexan Kulbashian and James Scott Richardson...
, Affordable-space.com; Tomasz Winnicki
Tomasz Winnicki
Tomasz Winnicki is a Polish-Canadian white supremacist based in London, Ontario. He was the subject of complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for his activities, and has also faced criminal charges on weapons offences...
; Craig Harrison
Craig Harrison
Craig Harrison is a retired lecturer, author, playwright, and scriptwriter probably best known for novel The Quiet Earth. Harrison's output has ranged widely, from science fiction to junior fiction, to comedies parodying academia...
(for postings on Marc Lemire
Marc Lemire
Marc Lemire is a figure in the Canadian white supremacist movement. He works closely with leader Paul Fromm, and is the webmaster of the Hamilton, Ontario-based Freedom-Site which he began in 1996. He has been called a "bigot" by Jonathan Kay of the National Post...
's Freedomsite); Peter Kouba; Glenn Bahr
Glenn Bahr
Glenn Bahr is a Canadian neo-Nazi and was one of the founders of Western Canada For Us , a now defunct racist group based in Edmonton, Alberta...
and Western Canada For Us
Western Canada For Us
Western Canada For Us was a short-lived Alberta-based white nationalist group founded by Glenn Bahr and Peter Kouba in early 2004. The WCFU was formally dissolved on May 11, 2004, four days after Bahr's residence in Edmonton, Alberta, was raided by members of the Edmonton Hate Crimes division...
; Terry Tremaine
Terry Tremaine
Terrence Cecil Tremaine is the founder and national director of the National-Socialist Party of Canada. He is a White Nationalist organizer who has posted on White Nationalist web forums such as Stormfront and other websites using the screen name “mathdoktor99,” and on other websites as...
.; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party
Canadian Nazi Party
The Canadian National Socialist Party known as the Canadian Nazi Party existed from 1965 to 1978. It was led by William John Beattie....
; and Jessica Beaumont.
Warman v. Lemire
On September 2, 2009, in the case of Warman's complaint against Marc LemireMarc Lemire
Marc Lemire is a figure in the Canadian white supremacist movement. He works closely with leader Paul Fromm, and is the webmaster of the Hamilton, Ontario-based Freedom-Site which he began in 1996. He has been called a "bigot" by Jonathan Kay of the National Post...
, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal member Athanasios Hadjis found Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act to be unconstitutional, as it infringed unjustifiably on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee of freedom of expression. Hadjis thus declined to impose a penalty on Lemire. As Hadjis is not a judge and the tribunal is not a court, his decision does not carry sufficient weight to strike down the section as ultra vires. As a result, the ruling is not binding beyond Lemire. However, the Tribunal has suspended further hearings in some active cases while awaiting a higher court ruling in Lemire.
On October 1, 2009, the Commission appealed the decision in Lemire to the Federal Court. The Canadian government has chosen not to intervene in the Federal Court case, although it had defended the constitutionality of Section 13(1) before the Tribunal. A trial date in Federal Court has not yet been set.
Case against neo-Nazi Bill White
Warman is also known for his attempt to have the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) block access to two United States-based websites that included what Bernie FarberBernie Farber
Bernie M. Farber is the former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness on hate crime....
of the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
described as a "murder warrant" against Warman by US neo-Nazi Bill White. In refusing the initial ex parte
Ex parte
Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from one party" .An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In Australian, Canadian, U.K., Indian and U.S...
application, the CRTC stated:
In the Commission's view, given the unprecedented nature of the relief sought in the Application and the serious and fundamental issues it raises, as well as the fact that the specific approval is being sought in favour of Canadian carriers without notice to such carriers, it would be inappropriate to consider granting the interim relief sought in the Application on an ex parte basis, and in particular without affording Canadian carriers and all other interested parties the opportunity to comment.
White was subsequently indicted by a US grand jury for the death threats against Warman and others and remains in custody pending trial. The grand jury heard testimony from both Bernie Farber and Warman. Acting U.S. attorney Julia Dudley said some lines had clearly been crossed, as she announced the charges against Mr. White. “When freedom of speech turns into threats against innocent people, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement community to intervene and protect its citizens,” she said.
Defamation Suits
Warman has sued David IckeDavid Icke
David Vaughan Icke is an English writer and public speaker, best known for his views on what he calls "who and what is really controlling the world." Describing himself as the most controversial speaker in the world, he has written 18 books explaining his position, and has attracted a substantial...
for libel, following the publication of Mr. Icke's book "Children of the Matrix". Warman also sued the publishers and some distributors of the book. Warman requested that that British Columbia Libraries Association remove the book from its collection. Fearing litigation, the Library Association complied with the request. B.C. Library Association member Ann Curry commented that “in the Warman case, libraries had to comply with Mr. Warman’s request or possibly face liability.” In 2004 the B.C. Government passed legislation to protect libraries from defamation suits if they distribute materials that can be considered defamatory.
Warman has also sued Jason Ouwendyk
Jason Ouwendyk
Jason Ouwendyk was a figure in Canadian white-supremacist movement. He is the former spokesman of the Northern Alliance. Ouwendyk assumed the role with the Northern Alliance soon after group founder Raphael Bergmann left the group....
and his group the Northern Alliance for libel - a case that was suspended when Ouwendyk sought bankruptcy protection and agreed to pay Warman damages as part of his proposal to creditors.
Warman sued Paul Fromm and his Canadian Association for Free Expression
Canadian Association for Free Expression
The Canadian Association for Free Expression is a political organization based in Canada that campaigns for free speech. It is often accused of having ties to the racist far-right....
for libeling him in various Internet posts. On November 23, 2007, Ontario Superior Court Justice Monique Métivier ruled in Warman's favour and ordered Fromm to pay Warman $30,000 in damages, and to post full retractions within ten days on all the websites on which he posted the defamatory comments. Métivier found that Fromm posted statements about Warman "either knowing the fundamental falseness of the accusations he levelled at Warman, or being reckless as to the truth of these." The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the judgement and added $10,000 in costs against Fromm and his group. The Supreme Court of Canada later refused to give them leave to appeal further and again awarded costs against Fromm and his group.
In April 2008, Warman launched a libel suit against the National Post Company, National Post columnist Jonathan Kay, and Canadian bloggers - Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant
Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian lawyer, conservative political activist and media figure. He is the founder and former publisher of the Western Standard, hosts The Source daily on Sun News Network, and has written several books on politics....
, Kate McMillan and her blog Small Dead Animals, Kathy Shaidle
Kathy Shaidle
Kathy Shaidle is a Canadian author, columnist, poet and blogger. A self-described "anarcho-peacenik" in the early years of her writing career, she moved to a conservative, Roman Catholic position following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and entered the public eye as the author of the popular...
and her blog Five Feet of Fury, Mark Fournier and Constance Wilkins-Fournier and their blog Free Dominion
Free Dominion
Free Dominion is a Canadian conservative website. It was inspired by Free Republic in the United States, and some members contribute to both sites...
.The reason for the suit was that the newspaper, quoting an expert hired by Mark Lemire as part of his lawsuit with Warman, said that Warman was the author of a 2003 internet post regarding Canadian Senator Anne Cools that used racist and sexist epithets. Warman denied that he was the author of the post and sued for libel damages from those who posted the information. The National Post and Kay apologized and retracted its statement and settled out of court with Warman. The remaining litigants are pursuing the case.
The owners of the Free Dominion are also involved in another litigation suit with Warman. Warman sued Constance Wilkins-Fournier, Mark Fournier and eight John Does for libel. Warman asked the court to order the Fourniers to release information which would lead to the identification of the eight John Does. The original court decision compelled them to do so; however on appeal, the Divisional Court overturned this decision unless Warman could prove a prima facie case against the John Does before their information was released. As of July 2010, the matter was still before the courts.
Warman was awarded $50,000 in damages in 2008 after a successful suit for defamation, assault, and invasion of privacy against Albertan William Grosvenor. Grosvenor had sent emails and made a variety of posts over the course of the two prior following Warman's human rights complaint against Grosvenor. The posts variously threatened Warman, called for violence against him, and attempted to reveal where he lived. Warman would have pursued damages of $175,000, but waived the larger claim so that he could proceed under simplified rules of court.
Political activism
Warman ran as a Green Party of CanadaGreen Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
candidate in the 1997 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
in the Windsor West
Windsor West
Windsor West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west and south of a line drawn from the U.S...
riding, and in the 2000 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
in Ottawa—Orléans
Ottawa—Orléans
Ottawa—Orléans is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988....
, placing fifth on both occasions. He ran as the Green Party of Ontario
Green Party of Ontario
The Green Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. The party is led by Mike Schreiner. It has never held any seats in the Ontario Legislative Assembly; however, the party did see significant gains in the 2007 provincial election, earning 8% of the popular vote with some candidates...
candidate in the 1995 Ontario provincial election
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
in Simcoe Centre, placing fifth, and in 1999
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
in Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 112,509.-Geography:...
, placing fourth.
In 2006, Warman contributed to the Renewal Commission of the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
's Report on Human Rights. He is also one of the backers of the reward fund established by the Assembly of First Nations
Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations , formerly known as the National Indian Brotherhood, is a body of First Nations leaders in Canada...
in relation to the Gatineau murder of Kelly Morrisseau.
Death threats and violent rhetoric
In addition to the threats against him by Bill White, Warman was the subject of further death threats after Tomasz Winnicki was sentenced to nine months in prison for violating a court injunction. A federal court sentenced Winnicki to nine months imprisonment for contempt of court for breaking that injunction. The threats included website Vanguard News Network's webmaster Alex LinderAlex Linder
Alex Linder is the owner and operator of the Vanguard News Network , an antisemitic, white supremacist website launched in 2000 by Alex Linder. VNN is one of the most active white supremacist sites on the Internet, according to the Anti-Defamation League . Its motto is "No Jews...
posting material inciting the murder of the Federal Court judge, employees of the Canadian Human Right Commission, and Warman (who had testified against Winnicki at the contempt of court hearing). Linder suggested on the main VNN website and in a VNN Internet radio broadcast that their killing would be a "genuine act of patriotism." Other individuals posted similar violent rhetoric to the VNN Internet forum. Both the main VNN website and the VNN forum were temporarily shut down on July 26, 2006 by their website hosting company's upstream provider after being contacted about the threats.
Praise & Criticism
Journalist Don Butler of The Ottawa Citizen newspaper wrote in a front-page profile of Warman:- Part of [Warman's] motivation comes from having relatives who fought Nazis in the Second World War. "It's really a betrayal of the veterans and all those who contributed in World War II to ignore the ongoing threat from these groups that are seeking to resurrect an idea that should have died 60 years ago in a bunker in Berlin."
- He also feels it's incumbent on him as a lawyer to repay the investment society made in his education by working for the societal good. Ignoring the problem, he insists, would be "betraying my duty to the profession."
- "It's imperative that individuals and groups take steps as strong as they can to defend human rights in Canada," he says. "Because if they're not defended, they get undermined. Eventually they get worn down through disuse. I could never bear to see that happen."
- Anti-Semitism and racism, he argues, are a community problem and need to be treated as such. "There's never been a history of genocide that hasn't been preceded by demonization."
Butler also reported:
- "He's had an enormous impact," says Michael GeistMichael GeistMichael Allen Geist is a Canadian academic, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. Geist was educated at the University of Western Ontario where he received his Bachelors of Laws before going on to get his Masters of Laws at both Osgoode Hall Law...
, the Canadian research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. "In a sense, he's got the mechanics of how we deal with online hate up and running. It's fair to say no one has been as effective or persistent." The result is a body of jurisprudence that leaves little doubt Canadian law applies to online hate speech that originates in this country. The decisions, says Geist, "have sent a clear warning to those who engage in hate speech that this is not a no-law land."
Blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger and former magazine publisher Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant
Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian lawyer, conservative political activist and media figure. He is the founder and former publisher of the Western Standard, hosts The Source daily on Sun News Network, and has written several books on politics....
, who is being sued by Warman and others for libel, has argued that Warman's actions as a plaintiff before the Canadian Human Rights Commissions are tantamount to censorship in the name of human rights. Levant also says the Warman's libel lawsuits generally are "nuisance suit[s]" that are part of Warman's "maximum disruption" policy.
Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
, which had been the subject of an unrelated human rights complaint concerning hate speech, has reported that "Richard Warman says he's fighting hate. Critics say free speech is the real victim." That article included commentary or allegations that:
- ...[T]he slam-dunk quality to Warman's Section 13 cases are a cause for worry, symbolizing the drift of human rights commissions into the boggy territory of covert investigation and speech control. Those concerns deepened two weeks ago with revelations that, for a time, Warman was acting both as a complainant and an investigator at the commission. Even after he left in 2004, he seemed to enjoy easy access to commission offices, stopping by to chat with staff or get documents printed. ... Of the fact Warman and investigators were going online undercover, [Keith] Martin says simply: "That's appalling."
At the conclusion of his complaint against Jason Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance, in March 2009, the CHRT criticized Warman for having posted messages on neo-Nazi sites, as if in agreement with other racist and antisemitic posts. During the hearing, Mr. Warman initially denied that he was the individual who had made the posts under the pseudonyms Axetogrind and Pogue Mahone. In one post, in response to a comment in January 2005 about American neo-Nazi leader Jeff Schoep, Warman wrote, "Keep up the good work Commander Schoep!". The CHRT ruled that Warman's posts, could have precipitated further hate messages from forum members, and that “his participation on Internet sites similar to the Northern Alliance is both disappointing and disturbing and it diminishes his credibility.” The CHRT therefore did not prescribe any penalties beyond a cease and desist order against Mr. Ouwendyk. In his defence, Warman said his posts had helped him identify members of the neo-Nazi movement, and that at the time there was no "road map" for such investigations. "With hindsight, he said, "things might have been done differently today."
External links
- richardwarman.ca official website