Mourning the Death of Freedom of Expression and Her Great Defender

by Don Spratt

Again today I’m in mourning; because freedom is dying in Canada, and so are her defenders. It began with the Whatcott decision, and now I mourn the loss of one of free speech’s greatest defenders: Douglas Christie, who died March 11.

But what bothers me most is that too few people—too few Christians—seem to notice or care about what it bodes for our future as a nation; few seem to recognize the gathering storm and what it means for coming generations.

Yes, we all want to remain free, but few are willing to pay any real price to ensure that freedom into the future.

Yet I hope—and fervently pray—that recent events will serve as a wake-up call, warning us that we must stand together, and bring to bear the indispensable political pressure it will take to bring about peaceful political change before it’s too late.

With Mr. Christie’s untimely passing, not only are his loving wife and family left in sorrow, but my good friend and co-defendant Sissy von Dehn is left without her able lawyer. As I watched him defend Sissy (beside my equally dedicated legal council, Ron McDonald), I came to a new appreciation for Mr. Christie—not only as a lawyer, but as a true friend of freedom for all Canadians… not just the politically correct and powerful, who need no protection.

He often laboured at reduced rates or pro-bono for people who could not find or afford legal council. Such was the high value he put on free speech; the right to a fair trial, even for people with unpopular or repugnant ideas with which he might personally disagree.

The Whatcott decision was a direct attack on our God-given, rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression in the public square—supposedly “guaranteed” Section 2 of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The specific provisions of the Charter that are supposed to protect individuals from oppressive and tyrannical government measures were again swept aside by the judges, who simply invoked Section 1 to unjustly deny those rights.

The worst part of the decision is the high court’s statement that objective truth is no defence.

The Latin word, Veritas (meaning Truth) is inscribed on monuments and plaques all over the Supreme Court building, but stating the TRUTH is no longer a defence if that truth offends someone, and they haul you before a Human Rights Commission! All it takes is for one thin-skinned, specially-protected person from a government-favoured group to say that his/her feelings are hurt by you stating objective truth, and you’re legal and financial toast!

So, be aware: subjective political correctness and hurt feelings trump the centuries-old values of truth, equal justice before God, and the rule of law in our courts. Even if no one was harmed, it still doesn’t matter!

On top of that, the government—we, the taxpayers—will have to pay for the complainant’s legal council; while the hapless defendant must defend himself, or pay for a lawyer out of his or her own pocket. And if he loses, the defendant can be fined and assessed court costs, which can be financially ruinous.

Equal justice before the law is as dead as an aborted baby!

At the same time all this is going on, Sissy von Dehn and I are still waiting on the BC Court of Appeal for a decision, to find out whether they will uphold our Section 2 Charter rights by overturning lower court decisions that also denied our free speech rights by the abuse of Section 1 of the Charter.

In our case, the court put the act of simply informing the public on a public sidewalk (that they can be arrested within a bubble zone) on the same level as crying “fire” in a crowded theatre when there is no fire.

We are also denied a trial by jury, because these are not Criminal Code cases, and prison time would be below two years if convicted. This, of course, eliminates the possibility of jury nullification—the tactic Henry Morgentaler used to defeat his clear and open defiance of the abortion section of the Criminal Code—and therefore any Common Law common-sense impact of a decision by a jury of our peers.

Everything is stacked against pro-life and pro-family activists.

Sure we have freedom of speech in Canada—but only as long as it isn’t politically incorrect speech, spoken on the public streets or in the public square; and especially not in a “bubble zone” around a government-protected, tax-funded child killing facility!

If we, as free Canadians, don’t soon stand up and demand that our God-given rights be respected, we’ll have to learn to whisper our opinions in hushed tones, and only to our most trusted friends, like my friends in the former Soviet Union, lest they end up in the gulag!

Some might say, “That can’t happen here.” Then why are Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner repeatedly put in prison? Why am I under probation for passing out copies of government legislation, if our political and legal system is not headed in that direction? Who is next? And who will defend you when all the Doug Christies are gone?

After surviving the Nazi prison camps, German Pastor Martin Niemoller wrote this warning:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out,
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out,
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out,
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out,
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

The loss of Mr. Christie is a loss for free speech in Canada, because few other lawyers will defend the free speech rights of people who hold unpopular views, such as abortion abolitionists. This is especially true in a day and age where the politically correct and powerful can expect the courts to unfairly discriminate against their pro-life and pro-family opponents, under unjust “bubble zone” and “hate speech” laws.

Everything Hitler did had been legalized, too; but it was not just.

Linda Gibbons has recently been released, having served her sentence (over 4 months) in remand. Mary Wagner still languishes in an Ontario prison, this time for over six months.

Where most criminals are given as much slack as possible, and are often quickly back out on the street; peaceful pro-life activists only get added persecution!

Meanwhile, Mary Wagner remains in prison, destitute—with her lawyer, Charles Lugosi, being denied legal aid to defend her. If you want to contribute to Mary’s defence, please send cheques to:
“Charles Lugosi at Law”
107 Wellington Street
Brantford, ON, N3T 2M1

Please write, “Mary Wagner defence” on the memo line.

The “crime” for which Linda has spent more than 10 years in jail, is obeying Jesus commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself,” by peacefully pleading for the lives of innocent, voiceless, defenceless, oppressed and unwanted pre-born babies. Linda and Mary offer a true “choice”, with practical help for girls and women in crisis pregnancies; girls who are often being coerced and almost dragged into abortuaries by partners, and sometimes parents. I’ve witnessed this with my own eyes, feeling helpless because a bubble zone law kept me away, under threat of more prison time.

But Linda perseveres, and more than 100 young women have accepted her practical help, and carried their babies to term. Some of those rescued babies are now having their own babies.

What kind of a perverted legal system would imprison a saint like that, while handing millions of our tax dollars, full police state protection and the Order of Canada to Henry Morgentaler? It is Henry who should be in prison, as he once was! Only a corrupt, politicized, violent and merciless legal system would do that!

How have we forgotten that the first and most fundamental God-ordained purpose for civil government is to protect the innocent and vulnerable, and to punish evil-doers? Today that is turned completely upside down; good is called “evil”, and evil is called “good” in our court system!

Isaiah 5:20-21 says:

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.

The courts get away with inverted justice because, first of all, the biased pro-abortion major media outlets hardly ever report on this injustice! Second, even when we are aware of the injustice inflicted upon Linda and Mary, except for a handful of notable exceptions… we let the authorities get away with it—because we, for the most part, say nothing.

As a prisoner of conscience myself (although doing far less time) I personally know a little bit about what Mary Wagner and Linda Gibbons must feel as they languish in prison for doing the right thing in the face of an unjust law. I know what it is to sit in prison for upholding God’s law, despite a perverted human law that forbids it.

I felt as Martin Luther King did while sitting in jail and remember his words,

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.

It was also Dr. King who said,

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

So today I mourn the loss of freedom, liberty, and justice under the rule of law. I mourn the fact that those like Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner stand virtually alone, with little moral or financial support beyond the prison system meals, bed and a roof over their heads—all for defending the most innocent and defenceless among us: the 300 pre-born who will die today, and every day until we finally stand up and say “NO MORE!”

And I mourn for Bill Whatcott, who gallantly refuses to stop his witness to the truth and defence of the bedrock of Canadian society: the family! How long until he ends up in prison too, forgotten and alone?

In the end, it is up to us, and no one else! The free ride of freedom, paid for by our forbearers, is over. Further complacency will cost future generations dearly—in injustice, slavery and death.

If the last century taught us anything, it is that appeasement of evil only encourages more evil—until it finally reaches you.

The German church kept “going along to get along” with Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930s, thinking his growing tyranny would not affect them—only to send their boys off in the ’40s to a deadly war that affected every German family and many Canadian families!

Will we learn from this history, or repeat it?

I have a workable plan to stop the child-killing, restore our God-given rights under God and the rule of law—if we, as Christians, and all other Life- and Liberty-lovers, will stand and work together relentlessly before the next federal election, in a non-partisan political campaign behind our long-cherished moral and political principles—a stand that will get the attention of every politician and aspiring politician. Remember: “politicians do not see the light until they feel the heat (electorally and financially)!”

This will not be a cheap or easy win; it will cost us all, in terms of time, money; social, political and media opposition; and even persecution—but it is a price we must pay to remain free. It may cost us some socio-political and economic pain now, but that is much better than the blood, sweat and tears it will cost future generations if they have to rise up in armed revolt or a civil war to regain the God-given freedom, justice and prosperity we are squandering on ourselves.

If you want to join me in the fight for Life and Liberty in Canada; an organized effort to see Linda and Mary released, the repeal of bubble-zone laws, and the restoration of respect for God and the rule of law, let me know what you can contribute in skills, time and finances. See how you can donate financially below.

The funds will be used for FreeLinda and FreeMary web pages and bill-board signs in Ontario. I have a donor for signs in Saskatchewan. The funds will also cover organization, travel and expenses, as well as providing funds to Linda and Mary as needed, in or out of prison. An independent individual will do the bookkeeping. No tax receipts can be issued, but financial supporters will be able to ask for reports.

Please give all you can financially as soon as possible. If I don’t hear from you with tangible support, then there is little I can do on my own, although I’ve tried and have given all I have for 30 years defending the pre-born; and now some 14 years in the courts and prison for defending our God-given Charter rights to freedom of expression and religion, mostly at my own expense. My family and I have sacrificed much for this cause, so I think you can trust me with God’s money. Pray for all of us on the front line, and please join us!

Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. (Hebrews 13:3) Also read Matthew 25:31-46.

Ask yourself these questions in light of the above Scriptures and of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbour as yourself”:

If you were innocent and defenceless, yet scheduled to be killed tomorrow, merely because you were unwanted, wouldn’t you want somebody to speak in your defence, and even try to rescue you?

If you were unjustly kept in jail for obediently “loving your neighbour as yourself”, wouldn’t you want Christian brothers and sisters to come to your defence and demand your release? Wouldn’t you want them to come to your defence by the thousands, or hundreds of thousands? I would; but it’s never happened. We better change that before it’s too late!

Join me in defending Life and Liberty!!

You can conveniently and quickly donate on-line by going to: Life-Liberty.net and use the PayPal button on the right side.

Or use this link: OR Make checks payable to: Life & Liberty Network 4705 W. 6th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6T 1C4 Blessings!

More on the plan next time… Stay tuned!