This is not a question of a minority having the right to express themselves, but rather the right of every individual to express their personal views. Every individual should have equal rights no matter their views. All viewpoints should be allowed but in the end the majority has rule. Abraham Lincoln says it best, "No man is good enough to govern another man without the others consent".
To say that every Canadian should be favoured equally follows the ideas of democracy. It is only necessary to treat citizens as equal individuals in a society where the job of the government should be to accommodate as many people as possible. If every individual who thought differently had their way there would be no point of government as this is totally against the idea of a majority rule democracy. In the 1950s, some people who thought differently had their way and passed legislation discriminating minorities based on race, colour, and national origin. These people were segregated from the rest of society. They were told that they were "Separate but equal." This "equality" did not allow the minorities (especially blacks) to use the same hospitals, theatres, trains, parks, and most public facilities that white people used. These people should have not been viewed as black or white but as Americans and people who have equality. .
Freedom of speech is the right to express ones individual opinions views no matter their status, majority or minority, individual or a group, white or black. Freedom of speech has its democratic place. Considering the idea of the freedom to speak, no particular speech should be restricted on the basis of it being hate speech, religious conviction, or a minority viewpoint. Everyone has the right to express their feelings including individuals and minority groups. Recently the Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien, expressed his right to free speech when he gave his opinions on western politicians.
