Canadian Association for Free Expression
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Canadian Association for Free Expression (CAFE) is a political organization based in Canada that campaigns for free speech and has links to the racist far right.
Founded in 1981, it claims to be committed to the promotion and defence of total freedom of speech and opinion, which it sees as essential to the functioning of Canadian democracy. It began in Ontario, although it has since also been incorporated in Alberta. CAFE enshrined its aims in a Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, and publishes a Free Speech Monitor ten times a year.
Recent campaigns by CAFE have included organizing demonstrations for the release of Brad Love, whom it claims is a political prisoner jailed for expressing his nativist sentiments (co-organized with the Canadian Heritage Alliance and the defunct Northern Alliance), as well as campaigning for the release of Ernst Zündel and David Irving.
CAFE has been vocal in what it sees as injustices against whites in the Canadian system, and has argued that the law does not robustly defend the free speech of whites, and is too weighted towards minorities [1]. Opponents have accused the CAFE of racism, arguing that it does not simply support the free speech of far right groups, but also endorses their opinions. CAFE leader Paul Fromm has been called a neo-Nazi due to his links with far-right political parties and Holocaust denial. The group is a signatory of the New Orleans Protocol, indicating a kinship with White nationalism.
