canada

John Stossel has a show on Fox News channel that is sometimes pretty interesting. He is a libertarian (and on Fox! HA!) and has some good ideas. I watch if I am flipping by and the topic intrigues me.

Last night I learned something interesting about Canada. Now, I am sure most Americans think they know all about Canada, eh? It is our friendly neighbor to the north, pretty much just like us except everyone has a Yooper accent, they have more moose, and they have national health care so those who can afford it come here for procedures. Right? Nope.

I decided to share what I learned because I have several family members who love Canada, and several others who are already planning a trip there (not that any of them actually read my blog).

In Canada, they do not believe in the right to free speech. If you say something that MIGHT possibly hurt someones feelings, you could go to jail. Stossel had a man on his show who publishes a newspaper and was prosecuted under this law. Do you remember when the Belgium (or somewhere close) newspaper printed editorial cartoons of Muhammad? And the Muslims rioted and many people were killed in several countries? It was a huge news story but no one dared print the actual cartoons. Well, this guy did. And spent one hundred thousand dollars defending himself. IT WAS NEWS!!! The Canadian government had fifteen people spend over 900 hours looking into this. Can you believe it?

So, if you ever decide to visit Canada, do NOT tell any jokes, comment on any ones appearance or, horrors, complain about anything. You could go to jail.

Don't call me for bail money, I warned ya!

Anne