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Bob Collins

Manitoba fights Borg-themed license plate

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What does Manitoba have against the Borg?

Everything, if the experience of a Winnipeg man is any indication.

Nicholas Troller got permission a few years ago for the ASIMIL8 ("assimilate) license plate, which is displayed in a "We are the Borg" and "Resistance is Futile" plate frame, based on the Star Trek story.

asimil8

Manitoba revoked permission for the plate, the CBC says. The revocation came after a woman in 2017 posted on social media that the plate is offensive considering the government's history of assimilation policies.

At a court hearing, Charles Murray, an attorney for Manitoba, said license plates aren't constitutionally protected speech.

"The court is asked to pit the value of 'I like Star Trek' against reconciliation, and find out where the balance lies," Murray said.

James Kitchen, from the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, told a court on Monday the revocation represents a slippery slope.

Kitchen's group will be back in court later this month, defending a Nova Scotia man who lost his GRABHER license plate.

“These cases matter because of what’s at stake: the right of Canadians to express themselves peacefully, regardless of whether this expression is considered offensive by one or more others,” Justice Centre President John Carpay said in a press release. “There is no right to be free of offense in Canada.”