The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) is the quasi-judicial body that has become semi-famous for its one-week show trial of Macleans Magazine after it had the audacity to publish Mark Steyn in its pages, and for fining comic Guy Earle over $15,000 after getting into a tussle with some lesbian hecklers at an open mic. It is the living embodiment of everything that is wrong with government involvement in what we say and how we live our lives.

Last summer we learned that Heather MacNaughton, the head of the BCHRT at the time, and tribunal member Judy Parrack were not going to be re-appointed to their positions. Indeed, for a little while, there was even a little doubt as to the future purpose of the BCHRT itself. That didn't last long, however, and long-time bureaucrat Bernd Walter was appointed in MacNaughton's stead to carry on her, erm, fine work. 

But whatever became of Heather MacNaughton herself? Well, this May she was appointed, as of June 1st, by the province's lieutenant-governor as a BC Supreme Court master, which means that she'll be making decisions about procedural motions and pre-trial hearings. It also means that she will be making about as much as your average provincial judge in British Columbia, which, as of 2007, was around $200,000 a year.

Not bad for a government-appointed hack who, just a while ago, was holding hearings about magazine articles and McDonald's hygiene.

Walker Morrow is a Contributing Writer for The Propagandist