VANCOUVER—Freedom of speech must not come at the cost of protecting people from discrimination, argued lawyers in a hearing that will determine whether a religious activist violated the human-rights code for distributing flyers that challenged transgender identity.

William Whatcott is the subject of a complaint by Morgane Oger, a transgender woman targeted by flyers Whatcott distributed during her 2017 run for MLA. The flyers displayed her image and questioned her gender identity. Oger is now vice-president of the BC NDP.

Legal counsel and intervenors for Oger submitted their arguments on Friday, the fourth day of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal hearing. They were followed by arguments from Whatcott’s intervener from the Canadian Association for Free Expression.

Susanna Quail, legal counsel for Oger, argued that while the case brought up several competing rights enshrined in Canadian law, the right to not be discriminated against was more significant in this case than freedom of conscience and the right to express yourself.

“There is a distinction between the freedom to hold a belief and the freedom to act on that belief … (Whatcott) is not being told what to believe, he is being told what the limits are on communicating that belief,” she said during the hearing.

Quail also argued that Whatcott’s flyers were intended to exclude Oger from the “democratic process.”

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Quail presented a video to the tribunal, taken after the hearing the day before and posted on Whatcott’s Facebook page, which featured Whatcott referring to the tribunal as a “kangaroo court” and further challenging Oger’s gender identity.

Intervenors from the BC Teachers’ Federation and legal advocacy organization West Coast LEAF also presented arguments. Both intervenors cited studies and papers showing that transgender people are the subject of disproportionate levels of discrimination, violence and harassment.

Paul Fromm, director of the Canadian Association for Free Expression and intervener for Whatcott, also presented his arguments in Whatcott’s defence. Fromm has unsuccessfully run for office numerous times and has identified himself as a white nationalist.

Fromm argued that Whatcott did not intend to incite violence and that the flyers were a valid criticism of a public figure running for office “in the realm of politics.”

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“Speech restrictions make it difficult for us to be our authentic selves,” he said in the hearing.

Whatcott’s legal counsel will submit its arguments at the continuation of the hearing Monday.

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