Most of the time when you hear stories about an out-of-control government organization it is some annoying tale of waste and mismanagement.

We read about it. We get mad. Then we put on our ball cap, and head to the coffee shop so that we can pass on the gift of anger and cynicism to our friends.

Then after we complain for a week about how dumb the government is for letting that happen, we move on to the next outrage and our original complaint is forgotten.

This is an important cultural tradition in Canada that has the added benefit of keeping thousands of waitresses employed across our country.

But what I am here to tell you today is that there are some stories that shouldn't be forgotten after a week. As satisfying as it is to complain, sometimes the situation is serious enough that actual action is required. This is one of those situations.

Six months ago I left my 15-year career as a member of Parliament, including close to three years as a cabinet minister in the Conservative government. During that time I followed the story of my friend Ezra Levant as he battled the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission over his right to publish the controversial Danish cartoons that depicted Muhammad as a terrorist.

Bizarre antics

At the time I was proud of Levant for not backing down, but mostly I was too busy as a minister to pay attention to the bizarre antics of the commission.

Nor, did I understand the degree to which the same and worse abuses were taking place at the Canadian Human Rights Commission, pretty much right under the noses of me and my colleagues in the federal cabinet.

Thanks to Levant's terrific new book, Shakedown, at least now I have a full understanding of how bad things really were, and I suspect still are.

Levant's book is well documented non-fiction, but some of the cases are so loopy you'd think you were reading fantasy. There's the story of the McDonald's employee who has a right to not wash her hands to meet hygiene standards. There's the one about the witch from Yellowknife who has the right to dictate the music policy in the local Boston Pizza. There's the guy in Burlington, Ont., who has a right to smoke medical marijuana at the door of another guy's pub.

But then what do we expect. This is always what happens when you give sweeping authority to a person with no sense along with a cool title like "human rights commissioner."

But not everything in Shakedown reads like fantasy. His story of the terrible abuse of power at the Canadian Human Rights Commission is a bone-chilling horror story. God help you if you get caught in its crosshairs, because if it investigates you, the ordinary rules of justice don't apply, including the normal legal protections for the accused.

After reading Shakedown I am embarrassed for not doing nearly enough to take up this cause when I was in government.

Secondly, I'm angry. Now that all has been laid bare I hope current federal and provincial cabinet ministers are also embarrassed at this outrage, embarrassed enough to rein in human rights commissions who long ago quit caring about real human rights.