Comedian who mocked disabled child singer did not breach limits of free speech: Supreme Court

A comedian who mocked a disabled child singer for years did not breach the limits of free speech guaranteed under Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. 

In a 5-4 split decision, the top court ruled Friday that while comedian Mike Ward's act ridiculed Jérémy Gabriel, a young man with Treacher Collins Syndrome, he was not chosen as a target because of his disability, but rather because of his fame. 

In its ruling, the court found that Ward's jokes did not seek to incite others to mock Gabriel and he cannot be blamed for the actions of Gabriel's classmates and others who parroted the jokes. 

"The impugned comments … were made by a career comedian known for this type of humour. They exploited, rightly or wrongly, a feeling of discomfort in order to entertain, but they did little more than that," the majority judgment found.

The four justices that disagreed with the majority ruling found that Gabriel's right to dignity was violated and said in their dissenting decision that Ward's appeal should be dismissed.

In 2016, Ward was ordered to pay $35,000 in moral and punitive damages for comments he made about Gabriel, who has a congenital disorder characterized by skull and facial abnormalities.

The ruling is significant because it is the first time the Supreme Court has heard a case where it has had to rule on the balance between a person's right to live in dignity and the right to free speech in the context of a comedian's act. 

In 2012, when Gabriel was 15 and still a high school student in Quebec, his family filed a complaint against Ward with Quebec's Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, which referred the matter to a human rights tribunal. 

The family told the tribunal that Ward, who has been a comedian in Quebec since 1993, violated Gabriel's right to dignity by making a series of demeaning jokes about him.

From September 2010 to March 2013, Ward had a live show called "Mike Ward s'eXpose," in which he ridiculed so-called sacred cows — people Ward said are not generally laughed at because they are rich, influential or weak.

According to the human rights tribunal's judgment, Ward described Gabriel in his live shows as "little Jérémy" and "the kid with the sub-woofer on his head," along with other similar jokes. 

The tribunal heard that Gabriel grew despondent, contemplated suicide and sought psychiatric help to cope with the ridicule he experienced from other students.

"I was 12 or 13 when I saw those videos," Gabriel told the tribunal. "I didn't have maturity to be strong in the face of this — I lost confidence and hope. It made me think my life is worth less than another's because I'm handicapped."

The tribunal ruled in Gabriel's favour in 2016, awarding him $25,000 for moral damages and another $10,000 for punitive damages. Gabriel's mother was awarded $5,000 for moral damages and another $2,000 for punitive damages.