On Friday, February 21st, 1997 the Victoria Free-Net Association was represented at the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Victoria by Mr. Harold Rusk and Mr. Edmond Letain of the legal firm of Cardinal, Emberton and Macaulay.
An action had been brought against us by Mr. Denis Oliver that we had denied him his right to freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter by suspending his user account.
His action was dismissed on the grounds that the Charter does not apply to the actions of a non governmental organization. His access was governed solely by his signed user agreement with the Free-Net Association. Acceptable use was clearly set out in that agreement. Under the terms of the agreement he waived his right to sue. As he violated the agreement and chose to ignore our warnings, we had the right to suspend his account.
The Association would like to thank Mr. Rusk and Mr. Letain for their efforts on our behalf.