Tweet
Sex Party vs Canada Post
The Rhinos are planning a political rebirth for the next general election, and now news the Sex Party is going national. Sweet. My options for the next vote now stand at 2. 
VANCOUVER - The Sex party will face off against Canada Post on Monday as legal arguments begin in Federal Court over a pamphlet that was refused delivery because it contained a photo of a penis sculpture and a painting that suggested two people having sex.
The Sex party, registered as a political party in B.C., tried to have its pamphlet mass-delivered during the 2006 federal election campaign but Canada Post rejected the material, saying it was offensive.
A section under the post office's Unaddressed Admail Customer Service Guide prohibits delivery of "offensive articles that contain sexually explicit material."
John Ince, head of the party that is in the process of becoming registered federally, said Canada Post used vague guidelines to censor a legitimate form of political expression.
He said the case revolves around why Canada Post rejected the pamphlet but had no problem with a religious tract from an Ontario organization that suggested AIDS is a consequence of the sin of homosexuality.
Mail carriers in Vancouver refused to distribute the material, calling it hate mail.
In a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Canada Post president Moya Greene has said she found the homophobic pamphlet "vile" but that the post office can't take on the role of censoring free speech in Canada.
Ince, a former lawyer and self-professed sex-positive activist, will argue the Sex party's case during the three-day hearing based on a violation of free speech under the Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"The only rational explanation for the policy is some sort of superstition that sexual information is dangerous," he said, accusing Canada Post of being an erotophobic and primitive institution that's prejudiced against sexuality.
"We see that as fairly entrenched still, the same way that segregation was 50 years ago in the States or laws against women owning property in Canada," he said.
"The only harm they can identify is that some children could be embarrassed by this," he said of the pamphlet.
Canada Post is using the expert opinion of child psychologist Michael Elterman, who says in an affidavit that "some children, mainly in the eight-to 12-year-old group, are likely to react with embarrassment, anxiety, and/or guilt to the graphics contained in the pamphlet."
Elterman also suggests that information about sex in the pamphlet is likely inappropriate for children.
In a statement of facts, Ince argues against Canada Post's suggestion that it would deliver the pamphlet if it's in an envelope marked "adult material" or a similar warning.
"Nothing in the material purports to be aimed exclusively at adults," he said. "The same way any other political party seeks to encourage support from people of all ages, so does the applicant. It wants young people to have access to such material if they are interested."
He said that if the government forced mainstream parties such as the Liberals or Conservatives to enclose their material in special packaging marked with warnings and didn't impose the same requirements for any other party, such action would be considered highly improper intervention by the state.
"The Sex party seeks no more than the same privileges granted any other political expression."
The single-issue party was formed in 2005 and ran three candidates in the last provincial election.
As part of its platform, the party is calling for legislation requiring more designated areas for nudists.
The Sex party, registered as a political party in B.C., tried to have its pamphlet mass-delivered during the 2006 federal election campaign but Canada Post rejected the material, saying it was offensive.
A section under the post office's Unaddressed Admail Customer Service Guide prohibits delivery of "offensive articles that contain sexually explicit material."
John Ince, head of the party that is in the process of becoming registered federally, said Canada Post used vague guidelines to censor a legitimate form of political expression.
He said the case revolves around why Canada Post rejected the pamphlet but had no problem with a religious tract from an Ontario organization that suggested AIDS is a consequence of the sin of homosexuality.
Mail carriers in Vancouver refused to distribute the material, calling it hate mail.
In a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Canada Post president Moya Greene has said she found the homophobic pamphlet "vile" but that the post office can't take on the role of censoring free speech in Canada.
Ince, a former lawyer and self-professed sex-positive activist, will argue the Sex party's case during the three-day hearing based on a violation of free speech under the Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"The only rational explanation for the policy is some sort of superstition that sexual information is dangerous," he said, accusing Canada Post of being an erotophobic and primitive institution that's prejudiced against sexuality.
"We see that as fairly entrenched still, the same way that segregation was 50 years ago in the States or laws against women owning property in Canada," he said.
"The only harm they can identify is that some children could be embarrassed by this," he said of the pamphlet.
Canada Post is using the expert opinion of child psychologist Michael Elterman, who says in an affidavit that "some children, mainly in the eight-to 12-year-old group, are likely to react with embarrassment, anxiety, and/or guilt to the graphics contained in the pamphlet."
Elterman also suggests that information about sex in the pamphlet is likely inappropriate for children.
In a statement of facts, Ince argues against Canada Post's suggestion that it would deliver the pamphlet if it's in an envelope marked "adult material" or a similar warning.
"Nothing in the material purports to be aimed exclusively at adults," he said. "The same way any other political party seeks to encourage support from people of all ages, so does the applicant. It wants young people to have access to such material if they are interested."
He said that if the government forced mainstream parties such as the Liberals or Conservatives to enclose their material in special packaging marked with warnings and didn't impose the same requirements for any other party, such action would be considered highly improper intervention by the state.
"The Sex party seeks no more than the same privileges granted any other political expression."
The single-issue party was formed in 2005 and ran three candidates in the last provincial election.
As part of its platform, the party is calling for legislation requiring more designated areas for nudists.
Comment