2(b) or not to be? B'nai Brith's Challenge to Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms By Arthur Topham April 1, 2009 In 1982, following passing by the British Parliament, Canada's Constitution Act, 1982 became the official law of the land. PART I of the Act became known as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its stated purpose was to ensure protection for all Canadians of certain basic rights and freedoms deemed necessary and essential to maintain our free and democratic society. Section 1 of the Act was the Guarantee of our Rights and Freedoms and Section 2 was the list of our Fundamental Freedoms . Section 2 states: Everybody has the following fundamental freedoms (as outlined in four sub-sections known as a, b, c and d). Section 2(b) reads: "Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;" Twenty three years later, on November 25, 2005, due to specific amendments made to Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act in the immediate aftermath of 9/11/2001 -- amendments that for the most part were hastily and prematurely inserted in conjunction with Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act of November 2001 -- Marc Lemire, the owner and webmaster of www.freedomsite.org and his lawyer Barbara Kulaszka were forced by circumstance to challenge efforts which they deemed inimical to the fundamental freedoms contained in Section 2(b). This was the beginning of the first Constitutional challenge* to the notorious Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act ,