An Ontario man brought before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for allegedly posting hate propaganda online walked out of his hearing Monday and a subpoena has been issued for his return.

Craig Harrison of Georgetown, Ont., is accused of posting derogatory remarks — targeting visible minorities, Francophones and the Trudeau family — in an online forum between 2002 and 2003.

If found guilty in the hearing, Harrison could face a $10,000 fine and a tribunal cease-and-desist order barring him from posting hate propaganda on the internet.

If Harrison doesn't comply with the order, it could be taken before Federal Court and he could face contempt charges, which could result in jail time.

Harrison raised his voice during the hearing, interrupting it and forcing a brief adjournment. The hearing resumed about 20 minutes later, but since Harrison did not return, the tribunal broke for lunch. When Harrison had failed to show by 1:30 p.m., the tribunal issued a subpoena for his appearance at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

This is not the first alleged internet hate crime to come before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

In 1997, Ernst Zundel — a Holocaust denier — was found responsible by the tribunal of using his website to distribute hate literature. He was deported to his native Germany, where he is on trial for inciting racial hatred.

Ottawa lawyer Richard Warman, who filed the complaint about Harrison, said in an interview Monday the Holocaust is a good example of why harsh words should not be ignored.

"Whether you look at Rwanda or look at World War Two and the persecution of Jews, it began with the proliferation of hate propaganda," said Warman.

The case is being argued by Warman and Canadian Human Rights Commission lawyer Giacomo Vigna before tribunal member Michel Doucet in Toronto.

Harrison — who flipped through a magazine while evidence was presented to the tribunal Monday — allegedly made more than 70 postings on what Warman describes as a conglomeration of sites for the neo-Nazi, white supremacy movement.

Documents allege derogatory remarks against Trudeau

Documents submitted to the tribunal said the postings included derogatory remarks directed against 'non-whites' and former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. There were also verbal attacks against South Asians and Hispanics.

"When you see that, as a Canadian and as a lawyer, you can't just sit back and not do anything," said Warman, who has filed six similar complaints with the tribunal.

Warman said he was able to link the postings — made under the login "realcanadianson" and "rump" — to Craig Harrison because of an e-mail address and references to the city where Harrison lived.

Warman also said some postings claimed credit for an assault for which Harrison was convicted in 1996. In that incident, Warman said, a black man was attacked while the assailant shouted racist slurs. Harrison pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and was sentenced to jail for two years less a day.

When the assault was mentioned in the hearing, Harrison raised his voice, and said, "That's slander! Nothing racist about it," before muttering obscenities. This forced the adjournment, after which he did not return.

Vigna said it's important to not take discriminatory acts lightly because of the physical hate crimes that could follow from them.

"If you don't, you don't ensure you have a society that is free of discriminating acts ... that can translate to some serious consequences."

But Harrison's wife, Susen Holmes, who is also presenting the defence, said it will be difficult to verify exactly who posted the material. She said it can be proven that a certain e-mail address and the name "Craig Harrison" were used, but not who typed in those words.

"Unless you had him sitting in my house, sitting in front of my computer ... that's all you're going to prove here," said Holmes.

The hearing is set to continue until June 15.