Given its multicultural fabric, contemporary Canada is vulnerable to the potential rise of ethnic hatreds, and it is naive, not to mention ahistorical, to assume that the Canadian mythologized consensus over tolerance cannot easily be eroded.
Seeing how the freedom of speech and opinion, the tolerance of a multicultural country are being under pressure, I am unable to avoid the political and cultural phenomena oozing into the classroom. .
My political science and journalist students are continuously influenced and affected by very different impulses. The question is, whether or not Canada's political framework, the shape of the rule of law and the academic environment are strong enough to make the young generation immune from contagion. Given my experience gained in Hungary, seeing the sneaking menace induced by extreme groups and digital platforms, I cannot avoid testing the bearing capacity of my students and their reactions. .
In Canada, the most prominent free-speech extremists is Ezra Levant, the Sun TV anchorman, who provocatively republished the insulting Danish cartoons denigrating the Prophet Mohammed in 2006, and Mark Steyn, who has been generalizing about Muslims for years. Both these authors have tried to shift the Canadian consensus by normalizing previously unacceptable tones and pushing the limits of free speech. When I initiated a debate whether Ezra Levant's rant was or was not against the Roma on Sun Television, the Canadian Fox News affiliate, my students did know the answer. Ezra Levant said on September 5th, 2012 "quote unquote " "Gypsies are a culture synonymous with swindlers and one of the central characteristics of their culture, is that their chief economy is theft and begging "sorry, it's true."" My students were well aware of the proper answer. Mr. Levant exercised hate speech by abusing his Jewish heritage to justify attacking other cultures.
