Northern Alliance (Canada)
The Northern Alliance started an open political discussion forum in London, Ontario, Canada. The weekly format started in 1997 and dissolved in 1998 only to be restarted in the 2000's after what was seen as a violation of rights in 1999 [1]. Initially there was no formal membership and was conventionally right leaning though open to all people and opinions. Topics included left/right political hot issues of the day along the spectrum of immigration, racism, international relations, provincial/federal politics and the Ontario Human Rights Commission. They had no website but produced itineraries for the discussions.
Controversies[edit]
In 1999, 17 'members' of the memberless forum received letters from London's police force, describing them (Northern Alliance) as an "extreme right wing" group, and "requiring" the group members to appear at police headquarters to clarify their beliefs.[1] The members refused to comply and took the letter to the Freedom Party of Ontario, a libertarian political party. The members were not charged with any offence, so party president Robert Metz decided to take up their cause as a free speech issue. Lloyd Walker, then-leader of the Freedom Party, requested that the Solicitor General of Ontario, David Tsubouchi, provide a list of "extreme" political beliefs that could result in such police action.
On December 3, 1999, the London Free Press, using information from Detective Superintendent Dave Lucio, published an article describing the Northern Alliance as "urban terrorists". Civil suits were launched against the paper and police when it published names with the defamatory material, based on the article and a follow-up piece published the next day. No crimes were ever attributed to the organization, in it's earlier inception as a discussion group or later as a far right group.
10 Years later, Jason Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance were the subject of a complaint made to the Canadian Human Rights Commission by Richard Warman who has successfully taken several other far right figures to the Commission. Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance were ordered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in 2009 to "stop spreading messages of hatred against Jews, Muslims, blacks, disabled people and others." [2] [3]
References[edit]
- ↑ http://www.freedomparty.on.ca/images/freedomflyer/ff34_01.jpg
- ↑ Richmond, Randy (14 March 2009). "Ont. white supremacy group warned". SunMedia. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ↑ "Warman v. Northern Alliance: 2009 CHRT 10". Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
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