Julian Fantino, then Minister of State for Seniors, leaves the House of Commons on Feb. 3, 2011.
Julian Fantino is warning against the evils of Twitter just days after his cabinet colleague – and prolific tweeter – Tony Clement had to apologize for dissing a 15-year-old on the social-media network.
"Regrettably, the inappropriate use of such a powerful communications medium also includes the slanderous destruction of people's good reputation," the Associate Defence Minister and former top Ontario cop wrote in a letter to his local York Region newspaper.
His overarching message is that the Internet provides no protection to slander or libel and no matter how much you think you are protected on the Internet, you are not. The law will get you.
"Recently, I had the occasion to peruse a number of so-called tweets between a number of users, whose communications back and forth included the most flagrant defamatory reference to local community-spirited individuals whom I personally know to be decent, ethical and truly honorable people," he wrote.
"All of which caused me to think that the authors of those communications must naively believe that the Internet gives them protection from the reaches of legal consequences, that communications over the Internet are somehow protected by the notion of freedom of speech or that their anonymity is guaranteed."
Mr. Fantino does have a Twitter account. His last Tweet on Jan. 6 was to wish a local minister and "Coptics in Canada and across the world a happy and safe Christmas." Rather milquetoast stuff compared to that of his colleague, the Treasury Board President.
Mr. Clement was in hot water this week after a 15-year-old high school student in his riding took him to task for his spelling on Twitter. Mr. Clement didn't like that and sent the teenager a private message in which he called him a "jack ass." He later apologized after all of that was made public.
Mr. Fantino, meanwhile, says in his letter that no one can hide on Twitter or the Internet.
"Although some people may wrongly believe that slagging the reputation of decent people over the Internet is somehow privileged, the courts have ruled otherwise," he concludes. "Such slanderous communications are not immune from the reaches of the courts or a plaintiff's pursuit of legal redress by launching a lawsuit, as they should."
His office has yet to respond to a request for an interview.