In Canada, a July 29, 2008 Investigation Report submitted to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission recommends dismissing a discrimination complaint filed by the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities against the magazine Western Standard. In an August 1 ruling, the Commission's director accepted the recommendation. (Full text of Ruling and Report.) The complaint involved the now-defunct magazine's publication in 2006 of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons originally appeared in a Danish newspaper.
The Report recommending dismissal found that the cartoons were published in the context of an article on freedom of speech, and in that context do not indicate an intent to discriminate nor do they endanger the rights of Muslims to equal opportunity. The decision is appealable to the Chief Commissioner. Wednesday's National Post reports on the decision. Ezra Levant, publisher of Western Standard, published a rather defiant blog posting commenting on the dismissal. (See prior related posting.)
