MORE CRUSHING OF DISSENT: The Government of Canada is reportedly trying to shut down a blogger who — in what might be just a coincidence — has been deeply critical of the government’s serious corruption scandals.

I’d like to see this — and the underlying scandals — get more attention here in the States. The Canadian government’s increasing disrespect for free speech is deeply disturbing. More here.

UPDATE: A Canadian reader thinks this is overblown:

I’m Canadian. There is no crushing of dissent here.

If you look at any government of Canada website and compare it with “blogscanada” it is immediately apparent that he is infringing on copyright and trademark. I noticed it the one time I went to his site and wondered how long it would last before he was told to change it. There is plenty of vitriolic comment on the government and its handling of everything all over the web and no one there is being asked to cease and desist. I think blogscanada’s “theory” about the letter being linking to the sponsorship scandal is merely a red herring.

In fact, if you want scathing commentary on the government that is far better than blogscanada, you just have to go to columnist Andrew Coyne’s Blog at AndrewCoyne.com to see that there is no crushing of dissent.

Except where “hate speech” is concerned, I guess. (And it doesn’t look like a violation to me, but I’m certainly not an expert on Canadian copyright law. ) But thanks for the perspective.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Canadian reader Alexei Nordell emails:

Yes, it would be nice if your mainstream media would give greater coverage to our current round of scandals. But then, if we are honest, were Canada to discover cold fusion or suddenly spawn a race of mutant chickens, chances are your media would still barely cover my country. Something that ironically pisses off many Canadians(see Rick Mercer’s “Talking to Americans”).

However, you have a chance to spread the word(as it is). Canadian blogs and bloggers are growing at a faire pace. I am sure links from your website would not hurt. A few suggestions. All three have covered, from various point of views, the latest scandal’s and the somewhat amusing disintegration of Paul Martin’s party.

Yes, why is that? I’m interested in what happens in Canada. One of the blogs he sends was Andrew Coyne’s, just linked above, but he also includes links to blogs by Warren Kinsella and Paul Wells. And, of course, blogosphereans are familiar with the likes of Colby Cosh and Damian Penny. And don’t forget Ghost of a Flea!