The House of Commons voted here today to launch a full-scale inquiry into ways and means of curbing the distribution of hate materials in this country. Two bills seeking such a probe had been introduced, one by David Orlikow, a New Democrat, of Winipeg; the other by Milton Klein, Montreal Liberal. Both are Jews.
The House authorized the Department of External Affairs to conduct the inquiry, since Mr. Klein’s bill was aimed specifically at the banning of acts that might lead to genocide. The Crlikow measure was aimed specifically at anti-racial incitements.
Meanwhile, today, Postmaster-General J. R. Nicholson told Commons that a U. S.-based organization, the National States Right Party, of Birmingham, Ala, has appealed to a Board of Review against his recent ruling, banning from the Canadian mails the anti-Semitic material sent to this country by the Birmingham group. Under the law, such a hearing is mandatory, and Mr. Nicholson said the hearing is expected to be held next week.
Pending the appeal, however, he said, the literature sent to Canadian addresses by the Birmingham group is being held unopened at the post office. The Postmaster-General said the ban of the materials sent by the white supremacy-anti-Jewish group is “a matter of great urgency, as there has been a splurge of hate literature distributed through the mails.” Each side, he said, will be able to appeal to the courts, whatever ruling may be handed down by the Board of Review.
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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.
