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A story in the Globe and Mail brought a wry smile to my face today.

I am thrilled that Paul Fromm has been fined $40,000 for defamation. It’s about time the lying nasty little hatemonger was nailed and nailed good.

 My pleasure is personal. You see, many years ago while toiling as a senior writer at the Toronto Sun back in the days when it was a feisty tabloid I was assigned to go to Halifax where some 200 illegal immigrants had been rounded up after coming ashore in a sleepy waterside hamlet.

It turned out they were Sikhs and in the wake of the Air India bombing we were all a little skittish about Canada being the source for such an awful incident so naturally this was a big story.

They’d apparently sailed over on a freighter, if I recall, and then waded ashore. Of course, they stood out among the locals and the RCMP quickly took them into custody.

 I was in Halifax for a week or so and the trip was memorable not only because it was a national story but because I managed to get on network TV for being thrown out of a media photo op.

The authorities had agreed to let us walk through the hall where the detainees were being held to take pictures. There were strict rules, however, we could not ask questions or talk to them.

As I traipsed through with the media mob I noticed some of the Sikhs were wearing “colours” that is, sleeveless vests with the name of a pro-independence Sikh organization on the back. Many were also wearing the bright saffron turban, another iconic colour for the independence movement.

Since I already had my story on that discovery and my pictures I started asking questions about their affiliations since the authorities had assured us none of them were really a threat to security.

The next thing you know cops and soliders are wrestling with me and dragging me out. It was great footage and ecplised the show and tell because the story had switched to an issue around freedom of the press.

Anyway, it was a little burst of celebrity for me with radio stations calling to interview me. Even my friend in the U.S. called, saying he’d seen it on the news.

On my return I was sitting at my desk across from Bill Dunphy who was working on a series of stories around white supremacists. By great coincidence I was reading Paul Fromm’s file when the man himself called.

“I want to invite you personally to a rally we’re having at Nathan Philip’s square against immigration,” he said or words to that effect.

I had just read about his racist politics and associations with some white supremacist group from the clipping file and I was astounded.

“You know, I’d never willingly cover any event you’d organize,” I said and may have added “fuck off” or words to that effect.

Fifteen minutes later I was hauled into Managing Editor Eddie Monteith’s office. Monteith was old school. He saw Fromm as a reader and in those days you didn’t tell readers to fuck off, even if they were racists.

“If you weren’t so fucking good at your job I’d have fired you long ago,” he screamed at me, his voice squeaking. “Get out, you’re suspended.”

I think I got three days which I promptly balanced out by cashing in three days from my massive time owing bank.

I was a little upset. I didn’t think telling a racist bastard to fuck off was much of a sin. Messages of support soon rolled in from across the newsroom and from those outside who heard the story and know Fromm for what he was and, probably still is.

 I took my lumps and wore it as a badge of honour. I’ve never backed down when I see something wrong and I never will.

Since them Fromme has lost his teaching job for his racist philosphies and now been slapped with a $40,000 fine.

Good.

Fuck off Fromme and good riddance.

Toronto, On Dec 12 - The Canadian Writers Alliance today presented its case to the federal government for a $100 million assistance package.

“With the auto sector, banks, technology and manufacturing generally lining up we didn’t want to be left behind,” said John Scribble, interim president of the CWA, an umbrella group which includes several writers’ groups across Canada. “They’re asking for billions of dollars, we’re only asking for a few bucks.”

He said writers’ pay rates haven’t increased since the 1970s and that the print sector has been hit hard by the recession and changes in the marketplace. Shifting to online writing hasn’t helped because there’s no money in it, he said.

“The government must realize what an important role writers play in the lives of everyday Canadians,” said Scribble. “We deliver the news in newspaper, TV and radio, we write the skits, we write the movies, plays and other distractions which take Canadians away from their misery over the current recession.”

But there’s a dark side, he said, and that’s the stress incurred by writers as they struggle with low pay, long hours and soul robbing contracts.

“Look, we end up giving everything away because the concentration of media ownership in Canada means they can basically dictate terms,” said Scribble.

“And writing those doom and gloom headlines day after day, well, it’s gut wrenching for those who have to do it. They need support and counseling.”

The $100 million would be paid to professional writers across Canada on the basis of their income in 2007 compared to 2008 and ensure that they at least stay current, said Scribble.

“Without us, Canadians won’t know when the recession ends, what the government’s efforts have come to and there will be no comedy or laughter to take their minds off current events,” said Scribble. “If they can bail out the auto sector with their monsterous cars and dinosaur designs, the banks with their incessant greed which got us into this (with the exception of TD which did not play in the derivatives market) and the tech sector which has now jumped in with an “us too” proposal, then they damn well better put some pennies aside for us.”

Scribble said he hasn’t actually got the support of organization like Professional Writers Association of Canada, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Canadian Writers Guild and others but felt compelled to act quickly.

“We had an emergency meeting at the pub and after only two rounds there was consensus,” he said. “We know no writers’ organization in this country is going to be opposed to free money, especially now. By the fifth round we had settled on $100 million as only fair and equitable compared to the funds being bandied about by the other sectors. And we wanted to get our dibs in before all the money was doled out.”