Hate merchants peddle their dirty wares
Broadcast Date: Jan. 17, 1965
On Yonge Street in Toronto, a crowd gathers as Larry Zolf interviews a young man distributing hate pamphlets. "You must be mentally defective," calls out one man. "You have no idea what you're talking about," chides another, as the group gets impatient with the baby-faced bigot. Scarier still, Seven Days visits "hate headquarters," a farm in Ontario owned by well-known Canadian fascist John Ross Taylor. With chilling candour, Taylor describes his vision of the future — one that sends all Jewish people to Madagascar and where only "the leader" really has a say.Hate merchants peddle their dirty wares
• John Ross Taylor, born in Toronto to a prominent family, was interned as a Nazi sympathizer during the Second World War and came to be known until his death in 1994 as a leading Canadian fascist. He actively supported groups like the Heritage Front, the Nationalist Party of Canada and the Western Guard Party, keeping common cause with such convicted hate propagandists as Ernst Zundel and Jim Keegstra.• A surge in hate literature in the mid-1960s prompted Justice Minister Guy Favereau, interviewed in this clip, to convene the Cohen Committee to study what legislative action might be taken. Their work resulted in amendments to the Criminal Code, specifically sections 318-320, adopted by Parliament in 1970, that address hate propaganda.
• This episode provoked a storm of controversy, including active protests outside the Seven Days studio. Some newspapers and members of the public commented that it was "shock" television and no one ought to give such hate propagandists access to the nation's airwaves. But others praised the program for the exposing racism and "repulsive fanaticism" so that it might be dealt with by legislation and public argument.
• For another controversial segment on This Hour has Seven Days focused on racism, please visit the CBC Digital Archives clip Klan comes to town.
Hate merchants peddle their dirty wares
Medium: Television
Program: This Hour has Seven Days
Broadcast Date: Jan. 17, 1965
Guest(s): Guy Favreau, David Stanley, Dr. Karl Stern, John Ross Taylor
Reporter: Don Gordon, Tom Koch, Larry Zolf
Duration: 23:13
Last updated:
Sept. 2, 2008
Some great psycho-babble at the end of the video. Very reminiscent of what the Soviets would do to their dissidents. Questioning the 6 million™? You're "mentally defective"!
Submitted by: Jack