Ezra Levant back in court to defend against latest defamation suit

Ezra Levant has never been afraid to throw down against his adversaries, even when it lands him in court.

The prickly right-wing commentator is back there this week facing a libel allegation from Khurrum Awan, a lawyer and Muslim activist.

Awan claims Levant defamed him on his blog following his appearance before a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal over a hate-speech complaint against Maclean's magazine for a notorious Mark Steyn 2006 article entitled "The Future Belongs to Islam."

Steyn argued western civilization was in danger of being swamped by a rising Islamic tide. Awan, then an articling law student and member of the Canadian Islamic Congress, joined in filing human rights complaints in Ontario, B.C. and federally after claiming Maclean's refused to give space to an opposing point of view.

None of the complaints succeeded but Awan's appearance to testify made him a target for Levant, who has long fought the role of human rights commissions in hearing hate-speech complaints.

Awan's lawyer, Brian Shiller, told a Toronto court Monday Levant labelled his client a jihadist, an anti-Semite, a liar and a perjuror, among other things, The Canadian Press reported.

[ Related: Naheed Nenshi and Ezra Levant spar in epic Twitter battle ]

“The sting of the defamation goes to the heart of the plaintiff’s professional reputation as a lawyer and is accordingly particularly egregious,” Awan’s statement of claim says, according to the National Post.

Levant's launched “false, vicious, malicious and scurrilous" attacks designed to humiliate, embarrass and ruin him, claims Awan, who is demanding $100,000 in damages.

Levant, now a prominent host of Sun News Network's The Source, counters that his remarks are protected speech and should be considered fair comment.

Levant has been soliciting donations on his blog for a defence fund to fight the case and urged supporters to show up at in court.

"If you’re in the Toronto area, feel free to attend court to show your moral support for Ezra and freedom of speech," the blog says. "If you can’t attend in person, we expect to post any news reports and commentary on this website."

Levant has a record of running afoul of society's watchdogs.

Lawyer Giacaomo Vigna won a $25,000 damage award against Levant, plus $32,500 in costs, over Levant's defamatory blog comments in 2008 about Vigna's work on the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has also nailed Levant and Sun News Network for his disparaging comments about Roma people, for which both apologized. The council had previously sanctioned the network and Levant for a personal slur he used against an executive of Chiquita Brands International over the banana supplier's decision to boycott oilsands oil.

[ Related: Ezra Levant issues on-air apology for Roma comments ]

Interestingly, Levant's campaign against allowing human rights tribunals to rule on hate-speech complaints has been pretty successful.

A private member's bill removing Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act that banned Internet hate speech and gave the Canadian Human Rights Commission the power to hear complaints passed last year and takes effect in June.

Critics argued pursuing hate-speech complaints through the commission, a quasi-judicial body with the power to impose penalties, did not allow for the presumption of innocence, the Toronto Sun reported last year.

The section is being repealed despite a decision in the Federal Court of Appeal last month that found it does not violate the Charter's guarantee of freedom of expression, the Post reported.

The Appeal Court determined the commission's power to fine offenders up to $10,000 was "a reasonable means of imposing financial accountability" on those who disseminate hate speech and acts as a deterrent, the Post said.

But the repeal now leaves hate-speech complaints back in the courts through Criminal Code provisions against hate promotion and civil suits such as Awan's.