The following is an example of a sec. 13 human rights complaint and is provided for educational purposes as an example of how to make a complaint regarding hate on the Internet - cyberhate. The result of the complaint can be found at the Canadian Human Rights Commission website. Some results are posted on www.stopracism.ca as examples of the types of evidence and argument that Tribunals find relevant.
Complainant:
Richard Warman
Name and Addresses of Respondents:
1) Glenn Bahr and Western Canada For Us (WCFU)
Permanent home address:
XXX
Langley, British Columbia
websites involved: wcfu - westerncanadaforus , and stormfront
Address where incident occurred (if different from above):
Internet (see websites above)
Allegation:
Glenn Bahr and his group Western Canada For Us have discriminated against persons or groups of persons on the basis of religion, sexual orientation, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, and disability by repeatedly communicating messages through an Internet website that would likely expose Jews, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, blacks and other non-whites, and the mentally disabled to hatred and/or contempt contrary to section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) .
Glenn Bahr and Western Canada For Us were also responsible for the publication of a notice that expresses discrimination and the intent to discriminate against non-whites, and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in a manner that would constitute a discriminatory practice under ss. 5-11 thus contravening s. 12(a) of the CHRA .
Date of alleged conduct: 7 October 2003 and ongoing.
Particulars:
Glenn Bahr has posted extensive discriminatory material on Stormfront, a U.S. website forum at stormfront using the pseudonym SS-88 . SS is short for Shutzstaffel, the organization in Nazi Germany that had responsibility for the protection of Adolf Hitler and the operation of the concentration camps. In neo-Nazi parlance, the number 88 symbolizes "HH" or short for Heil Hitler as H is the 8 th letter of the alphabet. He has posted similar material on the Western Canada For Us website at wcfu and westerncanadaforus (the exact same material appears on both of these last website URL's) using the names SS-88 and Glenn.
In a posting dated 26 April 2004, Glenn Bahr used his screen name of Glenn to post a copy of a press release to the Western Canada For Us website that he had issued in response to media criticism of his group. In the press release he signs his full name and indicates that he is the President and Founder of the /p>
westerncanadaforus/forum_viewtopic.php?23.2130
Although a broad range of discriminatory materials have been included with the evidence accompanying this complaint, representative samples are listed below.
I visited the Stormfront forum on 9, 15, 19, and 28 October 2003, 18, 22, 24, 27 and 30 November 2003, 1 December 2003, 6, 13, and 31 January 2004, and 10, 11, 21, and 29 February 2004.
In a posting to Stormfront dated 11 February 2004, Bahr describes First Nations persons as "vermin".
stormfrontforum/showthread.php?t=115915
In a posting to Stormfront dated 13 January 2004, Bahr responds to a question about why he intends to get a swastika tattoo saying:
Because I believe in the Nazi ideals. To me it is a symbol of my beliefs and lets everyone know what I stand for. I am not ashamed of wearing a swastika but proud to wear that symbol. I am prepared to fight for my beliefs. I take my shirt of every summer and my SS [tattoo] is revealed and sure I get looks. But I am proud to have the SS on my skin, to me it is a great honour. I take gret honour in the fact my grandfather fought in the german army. This is why I will get the swastika, because dead or alive Hitler is my fuhrer. Heil Hitler! [sic]
stormfrontforum/showthread.php?t=109207;page=3
In a posting dated 10 March 2004, using the screen name SS-88 , Bahr indicates that:
I believe no matter how or why you are a homosexual your life should be terminated. This is not right. Nature intended for us to breed in order for us to continue our race. There is nothing natureal about being a hoimosexual, it is for purely sexual reasons. They should be terminated along with retards and any other degenerates that nature would do away with in the wild. What gives us the right to prolong a life that would have been terminated by nature... Nature intended for males to mate with females anything else is a perverted sickness that needs to be destroyed. [sic]
westerncanadaforus/forum_viewtopic.php?7.112.0
During the month of March, 2004, I became aware that Glenn Bahr was offering electronic versions of Nazi and neo-Nazi literature for download on the WCFU website. On 17 March 2004, I downloaded a list showing the files that were available. They included The Silent Jew, The International Jew, by Henry Ford, the Turner Diaries, by William Pierce (the unlamented former head of the US neo-Nazi group the National Alliance), and White Power by George Lincoln Rockwell (the former head of the American Nazi Party). All of these works are viciously anti-semitic, and the Turner Diaries clearly advocates the genocide of Jews, blacks and other non-whites, as well as any whites that associate with such individuals. I personally viewed all of these materials available in their entirety through the WCFU website on a number of occasions. On 17 March 2004 I printed off hard copies of The Turner Diaries and The International Jew , and on 19 March 2004, I downloaded pdf copies of The Turner Diaries , The International Jew , and White Power .
Violation of section 12(a) of the Act
Glenn Bahr was the designer and creator of the WCFU website, and the group's
self-admitted President and Founder. In a posting marked "Our 10 Commandments" downloaded 22 February 2004, Glenn Bahr and Western Canada For Us purported to require that members of the group must a) be a member of the white race, and,
b) must not be a homosexual or bi-sexual.
Complaint:
Based on the foregoing examples, I believe that Glenn Bahr and Western Canada For Us have discriminated against persons or groups of persons on the basis of religion, sexual orientation, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, and disability by repeatedly communicating messages through an Internet website that would likely expose Jews, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, blacks and other non-whites, and the mentally disabled to hatred and/or contempt contrary to section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act .
I also believe that Glenn Bahr and Western Canada For Us were responsible for the publication of a notice that expresses discrimination and the intent to discriminate against non-whites, and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in a manner that would constitute a discriminatory practice under ss. 5-11 thus contravening s. 12(a) of the CHRA .
Given that this material would appear to be quite clearly in violation of ss. 12(a) and 13(1) of the Act , I would ask that, if approved by the Commissioners, this complaint be forwarded directly to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for hearing.
I thank-you in advance for your work on this matter.
Richard Warman
8 June 2004