Alan Honner

Toronto Lawyer

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Just attended at CLE co-presented by Thomas More Lawyers’ Guild of Toronto and Canadian Jewish Law Association about combatting hate. It was a telltale sign that the organizers required security for the event.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

@JoshDehaas @TDF_Can Hi Josh, it has not yet been reported. A transcript has been ordered.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Thank you @TDF_Can for hiring me to defend this case and for publicizing the acquittal.

[The Democracy Fund @TDF_Can]

UPDATE: 📷 TDF client acquitted of hate crime in transgender video case

Ontario Court Judge clears young defendant of serious criminal charges.

KITCHENER-WATERLOO: A young man who faced criminal charges for inciting hatred after posting flyers at his high school has been acquitted following a two-day trial in the Ontario Court of Justice. The defence, which was funded by The Democracy Fund (TDF), turned on whether a video linked by the flyer incited hatred against transgendered persons.

The defendant, an 18-year-old student, was charged after placing posters around his school that contained a QR code linking to a video warning transgender individuals about the risks of gender reassignment surgery. The case was taken up by TDF. The defence argued that, while the video was graphic and controversial, it did not meet the legal threshold for hate speech.

Alan Honner, the lawyer who represented the defendant on behalf of TDF, stated that although the video contained material that some would find offensive, it did not constitute hate speech as defined by Canadian law. "The courts have consistently held that hate speech must be extreme, promoting the vilification and detestation of a particular group," Honner explained. "The trial judge recognized that this case did not meet that standard and accordingly entered an acquittal."

Under Canadian law, the crime of publicly inciting hatred occurs when a person communicates statements in a public setting that promote hatred against an identifiable group in a manner likely to lead to a breach of the peace. While rarely prosecuted, such cases are becoming more frequent as debates over contentious issues intensify.

The incident began when school authorities intercepted the student as he was putting up the posters. After scanning the QR code and watching the first 15 seconds of the 14-minute video, school authorities deemed the content hateful and called the police, leading to a criminal investigation and subsequent prosecution.

Honner questioned the decision-making process of school authorities, suggesting that they acted without fully assessing the material and without due concern for the student’s welfare. "No reasonably informed person could determine whether the video constituted hate speech based on the first 15-seconds," Honner said. "Rather than engaging with the student or guiding him towards a better understanding of the social issues, the administration unfortunately chose to pursue a legal remedy."

The defendant was also acquitted of a mischief charge relating to the same incident.

Litigation director for TDF, Mark Joseph, said: "Criminalizing speech is perilous, not least because laws expand to their interpretive limit. Here we see, also, the move to transform a moral or ideological dispute into a legal one. This needs to be resisted so that Canadians can debate issues without fear of legal persecution."

Read the full story and make a donation here: https://t.co/t1S27y85pb

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

@TDF_Can I would like to thank @TDF_Can for hiring me to do this case, and for their unwavering commitment to free expression.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

@ezralevant Ezra is not causing a disturbance. The police arrested him to prevent the protestors from breaching the peace. That’s not allowed. The Supreme Court of Canada said so in Fleming v. Ontario.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Ezra is not causing a disturbance. The police arrested him to prevent the protestors from breaching the peace. That’s not allowed. The Supreme Court of Canada said so in Fleming v. Ontario.

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

I was arrested two hours ago, handcuffed, searched and jailed for “causing a disturbance”.

I was just released moments ago.

I wasn’t causing a disturbance — I was standing by myself on a public sidewalk, silently filming a grotesque pro-Hamas mannequin in a Jewish neighbourhood — a reenactment of Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar. It would be like someone reenacting Hitler — and police were stopping me from filming it.

I was pushed away from it by one officer. And another officer, named Macduff, said if I didn’t go to a special “free speech zone” they’d set up far away, I’d be arrested. I told him Canada was my free speech zone, I was a citizen and taxpayer, and I would not get off the sidewalk.

Macduff said that was causing a reaction. I said the hysterical reaction of foreign thugs who hate Jews (and most other Canadians) doesn’t give them a veto over my Charter rights.

Macduff said he “was the law”. I told him no, he was a servant of the law. So he arrested me and had me taken to jail. I was just released and I’ll have more to say — including in a lawsuit against Macduff and @TorontoPolice for violating my rights and refusing to protect me. Go to https://t.co/2pJWOiKgNQ for more updates, and to help. (Thanks.)

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

@ezralevant It’s an outrage that Jews are arrested in their own neighbourhoods while the antisemites howl their approval at a police force that is complicit in the very hate they should be preventing.

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

I was arrested two hours ago, handcuffed, searched and jailed for “causing a disturbance”.

I was just released moments ago.

I wasn’t causing a disturbance — I was standing by myself on a public sidewalk, silently filming a grotesque pro-Hamas mannequin in a Jewish neighbourhood — a reenactment of Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar. It would be like someone reenacting Hitler — and police were stopping me from filming it.

I was pushed away from it by one officer. And another officer, named Macduff, said if I didn’t go to a special “free speech zone” they’d set up far away, I’d be arrested. I told him Canada was my free speech zone, I was a citizen and taxpayer, and I would not get off the sidewalk.

Macduff said that was causing a reaction. I said the hysterical reaction of foreign thugs who hate Jews (and most other Canadians) doesn’t give them a veto over my Charter rights.

Macduff said he “was the law”. I told him no, he was a servant of the law. So he arrested me and had me taken to jail. I was just released and I’ll have more to say — including in a lawsuit against Macduff and @TorontoPolice for violating my rights and refusing to protect me. Go to https://t.co/2pJWOiKgNQ for more updates, and to help. (Thanks.)

[Melissa Lantsman @MelissaLantsman]

This is outside a Jewish seniors home in Ottawa. Not a consulate or an embassy. Not a government building. Not a politician’s office. A Jewish seniors home.

Remember not only the cowards who think this is right but those who can’t find the courage to say anything about it.

All because they a scared of the political consequences of standing up against blind hatred.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Come to my law firm. We drive modest cars but we never steal from our clients.

MANDEL: Glamorous lawyer couple under suspicion for missing millions https://t.co/9wW1Ome8Ia via @

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

The Administration of Justice is in disrepute.

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

I am standing inside the 51 Division @TorontoPolice station. David Menzies is in the jail inside. You will be outraged when you see the arrest footage. Please help me cover his legal bills at https://t.co/BHTruvhJfV — thank you.

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

I am standing inside the 51 Division @TorontoPolice station. David Menzies is in the jail inside. You will be outraged when you see the arrest footage. Please help me cover his legal bills at https://t.co/BHTruvhJfV — thank you.

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

@rickjswenson @ezralevant Doesn't that make you a snake in the grass?

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Would you be outraged by a bylaw that punishes protests against racism or antisemitism? That’s what Calgary’s “Safe and Inclusive Access” bylaw does. #abpoli

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Canada just lost its best journalist. RIP #ChristieBlatchford

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

#ElectionsCanada doesn’t make the law. It applies it. Blame the politicians who voted for the #ElectionsModernizationAct if you’re concerned about chilling the discussion on climate change #CanadaElection2019

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Media are finally talking about the silencing effects of the #ElectionsModernizationAct on freedom of expression.. For those interested, the Liberals, NDP and Elizabeth May voted for the bill. The Conservatives and Bloc did not. #ElectionsCanada #CanadaElection2019

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

In the administrative state, our Charter rights are increasingly subject to "statutory objectives" as opposed to limits that are "demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." #TWU #Dissent

[Alan Honner @AlanHonner]

Government introducing new family-law legislation that would encourage settling disputes outside the court system https://t.co/m8CAkQfjAg via @torontostar

[Ontario Trial Lawyers Association @OntarioTLA]

Even then, if you have proven that you have met that threshold of “permanent and serious,” they take nearly $38,000 away from you and GIVE IT BACK to the insurance company of the person who hit you. #truthaboutinsurance #onpoli #onelxn #OntarioVotes