Those following the ugliest tactics of President Kuchma's "party of power's" assault on free speech and all things Ukrainian are no doubt aware of the forced closing of some of Ukraine's last media bastions of liberty and critical comment. The newspaper Silski Visti was recently closed for publishing an allegedly anti-Semitic (and poorly researched) article. And the Internet-based opposition newspaper of the late Mr. Gongadze, Ukrayins'ka Pravda is currently experiencing another attempt at silencing at the hands of the Kuchma government. Yet few would have noticed that by diabolical coincidence, Canada's own internet site for the defense of the good name of the Ukrainian nation, is under the very real threat of shut-down by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Vancouverite Lubomyr Prytulak is under investigation under the provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act with: "[�Ukrainian Archive is] discriminating against persons or groups of persons because of religion and national or ethnic origin by communicating messages to Internet newsgroups which would likely expose individuals who are of the Jewish faith, and segments of the Jewish faith identified by their national or ethnic origin to hatred and/or contempt�"

Lubomyr argues that "�the respondent repeatedly communicates messages over the Internet which are likely to expose some members of the Jewish community to hatred or contempt on the ground that they are corrupt. The alternative is unthinkable in a free and democratic society - which would be the suppression of criticism of any Jews, followed inevitably by the claiming of the same privilege by other groups,.."

The tactics of the CHRC in continuing this harassment include the technique of "spoliation", that is the strategic suppression, and destruction of Lubomyr's submissions in his defense. By posting all relevant letters and documents on the Ukrainian Archives website www.ukar.org he has allowed the public to follow the machinations of this arm of Paul Martin's Liberal government on a daily basis. Ukrainian Archive has become the Internet equivalent of the Rodney King videotape!

Lubomyr Prytulak says that "..the motivation for the creation of UKAR was to refute the defamation of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian nation, [�] Indeed, among the titles originally considered for what became the Ukrainian Archive was the UADL - the Ukrainian Anti-Defamation League. [�] Ukrainians, then, constitute perhaps the most defamed group in Canadian society, which cannot fail to have adverse impact upon Ukrainians in several areas, such as admission to university or application for employment or having accepted for publication a letter to the editor or a book. The UKAR labor of refuting the defamation, and thereby mitigating the adverse impact, is in the public interest, and deserves protection as a "Special Program" under CHRA � 16."

All Canadians should be concerned with the affect of the Canadian Human Rights Act on freedom of speech. Among the Act's provisions is the strange notion that the defense of veracity is not sufficient. One cannot shout "fire" in a crowded theatre - even if there really is a fire! One cannot say that the Emperor has no clothes, - even when he's stark naked!

June 28, 2004, we go to the polls.