Is a person entitled to say whatever they like without ever having to fear consequences? The answer is no, though you’d be forgiven for thinking it was yes.Issues around freedom of speech are raised frequently these days, and it’s clear that there’s often a misunderstanding when it comes to what the right to that freedom entails. In the wake of Don Cherry’s firing by Sportsnet from “Hockey Night in Canada” for making anti-immigrant remarks in a Coach’s Corner segment, and a speech by controversial writer Meghan Murphy held at a Toronto Public Library branch, the Star spoke to legal experts about some of the public’s biggest misconceptions. Clearly, there are many, with one example being the number of people who called out Cherry’s firing, wondering: whatever happened to free speech?The bottom line is that the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms only protects a person’s speech from government interference. That means the government can’t try to throw you in jail for what you say — in most cases. “People tend to confuse freedom of speech as a right against government with a right to say anything, anywhere, any time without consequence,” said Brenda Cossman, a law professor at the University of Toronto. “Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak free from government censure and/or arrest, unless the speech crosses the line over to hate speech.” And so, even when it comes to the right to speak free of state sanctions, there are indeed limits, as there are for all charter rights. Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that it “guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”In the case of freedom of expression, the state has imposed some limits that have been upheld b ...
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