Officials reject 'no god' ad campaign on buses
By OTTAWA CITIZEN
Added: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:00 UTC
Thanks to PrimeNumbers for the link.
Reposted from:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Entertainment/Officials+reject+campaign+buses/1291671/story.html
Ottawa ⢠The city has rejected a âno godâ bus ad campaign, a move that organizers hope will serve as a rallying cry for proponents of free speech across the country.
âWe need to get people as offended about censorship as they are by the ad,â said Justin Trottier, president of the Freethought Association of Canada.
âItâs not up to the government to control discussions. Everybody should be offended by that.â
The Freethought Association of Canada, a non-profit group that promotes education on the âprinciples of various world views,â has been using bus advertisements in several cities across Canada to raise awareness about the presence of non-believers and promote dialogue between religious and secular groups.
The campaign follows similar ones in the U.S. and Europe. The ads, which read, âThereâs probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,â are already on buses in London, Toronto and Calgary.
The Freethought Association had been hoping the posters would soon plaster the sides of OC Transpo buses, but their advertising request was denied last week.
âItâs not the first rejection we had,â Mr. Trottier said.
âWe got rejected in Halifax a week or two ago.
âIt was not a shock in that it wasnât the first city, but certainly we didnât expect that in the national capital the atheist position wasnât welcome on public transit.â
The decision was made based on a subsection of the transit advertising policy which says that âreligious advertising which promotes a specific ideology, ethic, point of view, policy or action, which in the opinion of the City might be deemed prejudicial to other religious groups or offensive to users of the transit system is not permitted. Religious advertising will be permitted if the information is designed to promote a specific meeting, gathering or event and the location, date and time of said event.â
No one from OC Transpo was available for comment Saturday.
âWe think this is a violation of our free speech rights and a violation of the Charter,â Mr. Trottier said. âIt seems like a clear case of discriminating against non-believers.â
Mr. Trottier said his group has not ruled out challenging the decision in the Supreme Court.
âWe are willing to take this as far as we have to,â he said.
âWe donât just see that weâre fighting for atheists, but for all those groups that would like to have a discussion and use the public space to get their message out.â
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But in the real world where societies are plural, then it is both inevitable and important that people offend the sensibilities of others. Inevitable, because where different beliefs are deeply held, clashes are unavoidable. And we should deal with those clashes rather than suppress them. Important because any kind of social change or social progress means offending some deeply held sensibilities. The right to ‘subject each others’ fundamental beliefs to criticism’ is the bedrock of an open, diverse society.
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