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By Lloyd Mackey
 SOME readers of last week's OttawaWatch may have noted a brief reference to human rights complainants who have tried, once before, to shift their complaints against a magazine, regarding a columnist's comments on Muslims, away from a human rights tribunal.
I heard from one of the complainants, looking for clarification. I provided it, and promised to do the same in this week's piece.
So that clarification -- indeed, I would call it a correction -- follows.
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This is one of these things that might be called "right church, wrong pew."
The complainant to whom I referred was Syed Soharwardy, who had used an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail on February 15 to express his desire to withdraw his complaint from the jurisdiction of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. That complaint had been directed at the Western Standard magazine (now defunct as a print publication, although appearing online) and its publisher, Ezra Levant. The complaint was that the republishing of some Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed had been offensive to Soharwardy and others in the Muslim community.
My off-target suggestion last week was that the attempt to withdraw the complaint had come from one of the law students who had tackled a column by Mark Steyn, not a cartoon republishing by Ezra Levant, and that the magazine was Maclean's, not the Western Standard.
Naseem Mithoowani, one of the real complainants against Maclean's, wrote to indicate that he did not recall any previous attempt, on his part, to withdraw the complaint.
Mithoowani and the other students involved in the complaint against Maclean's and Steyn are, indeed, attempting to settle with the magazine.
On a personal level, I would like to encourage them to do so.
Here is what I said to Mithoowani, in my reply to him: I was impressed with Syed's conciliatory approach. I want to wish you and Maclean's well as you make your offer and they consider their response. I know (Maclean's editor) Ken Whyte to be a man of integrity and honour. And I believe, as well, that if people who differ with each other can work with patience, mutual respect and goodwill, they can accomplish more than the a quasi-legal tribunal can do by trying figuratively to bang heads together. * * *
Meanwhile, the annual Pro-Life events around Parliament Hill serve to explore another facet of religious and political conflict.
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The March for Life rally on May 8, in front of the Peace Tower drew a few thousand people and virtually no media coverage. That is par for the course. I believe that only once in the past ten years since I have been in Ottawa, did the media pay much attention to the rally.
On the afternoon in question, I was in the Press Gallery office, working to deadline on another story during the rally. Another journalist came in after having watched the action for a few minutes. The journalist's comment, as near as I recall: "Those anti-abortionists sure know how to fill a lawn with people. They just bus in thousands of Catholic school students." (I am not identifying the journalist, because that quote was not placed on the record. If it is, I will do so.)
Meanwhile, a Catholic journalist from British Columbia lamented that pro-life rallies all across Canada, including in both Ottawa and Victoria, had received scant coverage. That journalist, Terry O'Neill, blogged as follows: I took part in the March for Life in Victoria yesterday, an event which attracted about 1,000 peaceful but determined participants.
It was a highly unusual affair, and not the sort of tree-hugging, business-bashing march and rally that normally ends up on the lawn in front of the B.C. Legislature. That alone should have made it newsworthy. But I saw not a single TV camera, radio reporter or newspaper journalist during the entire event.
That's one stinking, steaming piece of media bias, if you ask me. * * *
Not to oversimplify: The lack of media attention could be reflected, in part, by ingrained attitudes exemplified by the comment about bringing in busloads of Catholic students.
Some journalists, including those who might have had bad experiences in conservative Catholic schools, then become liberalized in secular universities and other alleged "maturing" efforts, are inclined to demonize the Catholics and their evangelical pro-life fellow travellers. Further, they figure the church is the big, male-dominated, bullying, authoritarian, bigoted, doctrinaire, anti-intellectual force that needs thoroughly ignoring.
On the other hand, some Christians who want the whole world to accept their values try to demonize journalists, suggesting they are part of a big, ugly, immoral, persecuting, snarly, female-dominated, condescending, cynical machine that needs to bow to the will of the good guys.
Now I will get out of the way and let the discussion continue.
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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006). He can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.
May 15/2008
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