Richard Warman is an Ottawa-based lawyer who is active in human rights law. Warman worked for the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) from July 2002 until March 2004. He is best known as the primary instigator of actions related to Internet content under Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act against people including white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
Warman wrote a detailed report on Internet hate in Canada for B'nai B'rith's Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents and has been the target of antisemitic smears himself, though he has testified in the past that he is not Jewish. He received the Saul Hayes Human Rights Award from the Canadian Jewish Congress in June 2007 for "distinguished service to the cause of human rights".
Education Warman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Queen's University, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Windsor, and a Masters of Law (LLM 2004) from McGill University.
Legal activism
Human Rights Commissions Warman has initiated a large number of complaints against groups and individuals, alleging violations of Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. He has been identified as the primary complainant under this provision. His targets include the Canadian Heritage Alliance and its leader Melissa Guille;Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/aspinc/search/vhtml-eng.asp?doid=968&lg=_e&isruling=1 Jason Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance; Marc Lemire;Richard Warman v. Marc Lemire 2009, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 26, Retrieved July 19, 2010. Tomasz Winnicki;Tribunal orders Winnicki to stop spreading net hate , Jewish Tribune, April 27, 2006, p.7 Alex Kulbashian and James Scott Richardson of the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party;Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Craig Harrison; Terry Tremaine;Glenn Bahr, Peter Kouba, Jessica Beaumont and Ciaran Paul Donnelly, all formerly with the group Western Canada For Us; Liz Lampman; Fred Kyburz;Warman v. Kyburz and Eldon Warman. Warman is the only person who has successfully used Section 13 in the decade ending in 2011.
In addition to Kyburz and Eldon Warman, Warman also raised concerns about Wally Dove, another member of the Canadian detax movement who was attempting to use his qualifications as a Certified General Accountant (CGA) to promote unlawful tax evasion schemes. The Chartered General Accountants of Ontario later revoked Dove's CGA and obtained an injunction ordering him to stop claiming to be a CGA thereafter.
Freedom of speech Warman was involved in preventing David Icke's public presentations in Canada and abroad. He shared his opinion with the British newspaper The Independent On Sunday: "He has taken all the conspiracy theories that ever existed and melded them together to create an even greater conspiracy of his own. His writings may be the work of a madman, or of a genuine racist. Either way they are very dangerous. There is an unpleasant anti-Semitic undertone in his work that must be brought to public attention. If he's unstable then so are his followers, who hang on his every word. What benefit can there be in allowing him to speak?"
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Warman has won ten of the cases he has brought before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT),CHRT decisions related to the following individuals and groups are in the footnote links after their names: Fred Kyburz. ; Eldon Warman.; Alexan Kulbashian, James Scott Richardson and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team, Affordable-space.com.; Tomasz Winnicki. ; Craig Harrison (for postings on Marc Lemire's Freedomsite) ; Peter Kouba. ; Glenn Bahr and Western Canada for Us . ; Terry Tremaine. ; Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party. ; Jessica Beaumont. and two more have been successfully mediated after the individuals had left the neo-Nazi movement and renounced their beliefs.
The CHRT has consistently upheld Warman's complaints against the following individuals and groups: Fred Kyburz; Eldon Warman; Alexan Kulbashian, James Scott Richardson and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team, Affordable-space.com; Tomasz Winnicki;Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Craig Harrison (for postings on Marc Lemire's Freedomsite); Peter Kouba; Glenn Bahr and Western Canada for Us; Terry Tremaine.;Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Bobby Wilkinson and his Canadian Nazi Party; and Jessica Beaumont.
Warman v. Lemire On September 2, 2009, in the case of Warman's complaint against Marc Lemire, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal member Athanasios Hadjis found Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act to be unconstitutional, as it infringed unjustifiably on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' guarantee of freedom of expression.Bhatt, Ankur, "Warman vs. Lemire: The Unconstitutionality of Hate Speech Legislation," The Court, http://www.thecourt.ca/2009/09/22/warman-v-lemire-the-constitutionality-of-hate-speech-legislation/ Hadjis thus declined to impose a penalty on Lemire. As Hadjis is not a judge and the tribunal is not a court, his decision does not carry sufficient weight to strike down the section as ultra vires. As a result, the ruling is not binding beyond Lemire. However, the Tribunal has suspended further hearings in some active cases while awaiting a higher court ruling in Lemire.
On October 1, 2009, the Commission appealed the decision in Lemire to the Federal Court. The Canadian government has chosen not to intervene in the Federal Court case, although it had defended the constitutionality of Section 13(1) before the Tribunal. In February 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled against Lemire in a decision that found Section 13 to be constitutionally valid and reinstated the penalty section and the CHRT's cease and desist order against Lemire violating Section 13, regardless of the fact that by that point the section had already been repealed by parliament.
Case against neo-Nazi Bill White Warman is also known for his attempt to have the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) block access to two United States-based websites that included what Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress described as a "murder warrant" against Warman by U.S. neo-Nazi Bill White. In refusing the initial ex parte application, the CRTC stated: In the Commission's view, given the unprecedented nature of the relief sought in the Application and the serious and fundamental issues it raises, as well as the fact that the specific approval is being sought in favour of Canadian carriers without notice to such carriers, it would be inappropriate to consider granting the interim relief sought in the Application on an ex parte basis, and in particular without affording Canadian carriers and all other interested parties the opportunity to comment."CRTC page about the ex parte application", August 22, 2006Michael Geist, "Tough Choice for CRTC in Hate Blocking Case ", August 28, 2006Michael Geist, "CRTC Denies Hate Site Request ", August 25, 2006
White was subsequently indicted by a U.S. grand jury for the death threats against Warman and others and remains in custody pending trial. The grand jury heard testimony from both Bernie Farber and Warman. Acting U.S. attorney Julia Dudley said some lines had clearly been crossed, as she announced the charges against Mr. White. "When freedom of speech turns into threats against innocent people, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement community to intervene and protect its citizens", she said.
Defamation suits
David Icke Warman sued David Icke for libel, following the publication of Icke's book Children of the Matrix. Warman also sued the publishers and some distributors of the book. Warman requested that the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Library remove the book from its collection. Fearing litigation, the library complied with the request. British Columbia Library Association member Ann Curry commented that "in the Warman case, libraries had to comply with Warman's request or possibly face liability2. In 2004, the British Columbia government passed legislation to protect libraries from defamation suits if they distribute materials that can be considered defamatory."Civil Rights Group Lauds Attorney General for new Legal Protection for Libraries", http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/04libelandslander.htm . The lawsuit was settled in 2015 when Icke paid $210,000 in damages and legal costs and agreed to "immediately cease any further distribution of Children of the Matrix and remove the defamatory material from any future editions". Warman said: "This settlement exposes Icke's argument that no one had ever sued him because his allegations were true as nothing more than a fallacy". He added, "My reputation has been entirely vindicated. David Icke’s attacks against me were disgraceful and beyond the pale but he’s paid a heavy price for them and I trust this will never happen again".
Jason Ouwendyk and the Northern Alliance Warman has also sued Jason Ouwendyk and his white supremacist group the Northern Alliance for libel. – a case that was suspended when Ouwendyk sought bankruptcy protection and agreed to pay Warman damages as part of his proposal to creditors
Paul Fromm and the Canadian Association for Free Expression Warman sued Paul Fromm and his Canadian Association for Free Expression for libeling him in various Internet posts. On November 23, 2007, Ontario Superior Court Justice Monique Métivier ruled in Warman's favour and ordered Fromm to pay Warman $30,000 in damages, and to post full retractions within ten days on all the websites on which he posted the defamatory comments. Métivier found that Fromm posted statements about Warman "either knowing the fundamental falseness of the accusations he levelled at Warman, or being reckless as to the truth of these."Don Butler, "Anti-racism activist wins libel judgment ", Ottawa Citizen, November 24, 2007 The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the judgement and added $10,000 in costs against Fromm and his group. The Supreme Court of Canada later refused to give them leave to appeal further and again awarded costs against Fromm and his group.
William Grosvenor Warman was awarded $50,000 in damages in 2008 after a successful suit for defamation, assault, and invasion of privacy against Albertan William Grosvenor.Warman v. Grosvenor, 2008 CanLII 57728 (On. S.C.) http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2008/2008canlii57728/2008canlii57728.html Grosvenor had sent emails and made a variety of posts over the course of the two prior years following Warman's human rights complaint against Grosvenor. The posts variously threatened Warman, called for violence against him, and attempted to reveal where he lived. Warman would have pursued damages of $175,000, but waived the larger claim so that he could proceed under simplified rules of court.Warman v. Grosvenor, 2008 CanLII 57728 (On. S.C.) at paras. 84–89. http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2008/2008canlii57728/2008canlii57728.html
National Post, Ezra Levant et al