Toronto’s Board of Control today authorized the city Legal Department to appeal a decision by Magistrate Charles Opper that Toronto’s bylaw against inciting racial hatred in public parks is invalid. The magistrate on December 7 acquitted William John Beattie, self-styled Canadian Nazi Party leader, on a charge of using language likely to stir up hatred against Jews and Negroes.
Beattie was charged under Section 13 of the parks bylaw after making a public address last June in Allan Gardens. The magistrate ruled that the bylaw dealt with freedom of speech and this was a subject outside the legislative competence of the city. The court declared that freedom of speech was a subject that belonged only to the federal Parliament.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
