Lawfare In Action: Posties Go Postal on Wiesenthal and Sun TV

Who needs Section 13 (the late, unlamented "hate speech"/cesorship component of our Human Rights Code) when you can channel your affront into a genuine lawsuit? CUPW shows us how its done:

TORONTO — One of Canada’s largest unions is suing Sun Media Corp. and Avi Benlolo, president and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, for saying it supports terrorism.  

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is seeking $250,000 in damages for defamation from Sun Media’s parent company, Quebecor Media Inc., alleging it was smeared in a Sun News Network segment last summer.  

The July 24 segment, titled Hamas, CUPW Flags Fly on Parliament Hill, which featured host Jerry Agar and guest Benlolo, blasted CUPW members for taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest in Ottawa the day before.  

The broadcast said CUPW banners were flown near Hamas flags, and pointed out that Hamas is a banned terrorist organization in Canada.  

A statement of claim filed in Ottawa on behalf of the union said the broadcast made “many untrue, disparaging statements about CUPW and its members,” including that CUPW has often “lent [its] support to terrorist organizations,” and that it “has a history of partnering up with hate groups.”  

Agar and Benlolo “wrongfully state” that CUPW supports or partners with terrorist and hate groups, and Hamas in particular, the claim said. None of the allegations have been tested in court.  

The segment remains available on the Sun News website...

There's a certain irony/sense of just desserts here in that Benlolo was one of the country's most vocal proponents of Section 13 (because, foolishly, he thought it was an effective and expedient way to tackle Jew-hate). He is now discovering what it's like to be on the receiving end of what is essentially an attempt to censor/silence him.

As for CUPW, its Zionhass is longstanding, pervasive and hideous:

VANCOUVER, Canada (JTA) — The Canadian government called on the country’s postal workers union to apologize for using its monthly newsletter to attack Israel. 

Canada "plays a key part in perpetuating war crimes" by Israel, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ March newsletter read, according to the Toronto Sun. 

"Canada is allowing Israel to terrorize occupied people, breach international law, normalize home demolitions, build prison-style walls and checkpoints, and steal resources," the newsletter continued. 

Steven Fletcher, the government minister responsible for the postal service, criticized the union’s statements. 

"CUPW should apologize for this misuse of public funds and its anti-Israeli rhetoric," he said. 

The union acknowledged that it used union dues to send letter carrier and activist Ruth Breen to protest in the West Bank last year, according to the Sun. However, also last year, the union refused to pay for members to attend a Free Palestine conference in Brazil, the Canada Post reported. 

The postal workers’ union, known for a history of activism outside of labor causes, was the first Canadian union to call for a boycott of Israel when it did so in 2008. The union has 54,000 members.

The saving grace here: mail carriers are being mothballed, and the Israel-loathing union will soon shrink to the point of irrelevance.