They say that freedom of speech is free but Mike Ward begs to differ.

The controversial French Canadian shock comic was fined $42,000 by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal earlier this year after telling a joke about Jeremy Gabriel, a Quebec teenager with Treacher Collins syndrome, a genetic condition that affects the development of bones and tissues in the face, who sang for the Pope in 2006.

The Canadian Government decided to fine the bilingual comic after ruling that the joke, which suggested the young singer looked like a terminally ill child and culminated in the punchline 'I didn't know what illness he had, so I Googled it and it turns out he's just ugly', went beyond freedom of expression and was discriminatory.

Jeremy, who was 12 at the time, said that the joke hurt his career, led to bullying at school and put the idea into his head that his life 'wasn't worth much'.

However, the decision, which Mike is appealing, has caused ructions in the comedy world, with some calling the ruling 'terrifying' and others claiming it had 'felled the last bastion of unfettered free speech'.

The joke in question and its resultant aftermath have now become the inspiration for Mike's new show, Freedom of Speech isn't Free.

"It's about my trials and tribulations," he says. "About being someone that does dark comedy in a PC era.

"I got fined $42,000 Canadian dollars by the Canadian government for telling a joke on stage, I figured if it was going to cost me $42,000 I was going to get my money's worth."

The fine also raised questions in the media and among comedians about equality, with some comics suggesting that the tribunal's ruling could be seen as discriminatory.

"I thought discrimination was when you treated people differently," says Mike. "But I guess in comedy treating everyone the same is now considered discriminatory.

"When I heard I was being sued, at first I thought it was a joke. Suing a comic for something he said on stage, not on television, sounded crazy to me. Canadians are too polite, even our judges."

Ironically the ruling has resulted in the joke, which was originally told in French on a stage in 2010, reaching a much wider audience than it was ever intended for.

"Of course the ruling has ensured the joke's reached even more people," Mike says. "I did this joke on stage, in French, and now we're talking about it in a Scottish newspaper.

"I think the joke has been so contentious because people didn't hear it in its proper context. I wasn't making fun of the kid's disability, I was making fun of the way the boy had been portrayed in the French Canadian media."

Despite the backlash, the stand-up believes that comedians should be able to discuss any issues they want without fear of reprisals.

"I don't think any topics should be off limits for comedians," he says. "Which is probably why I got in trouble in the first place.

"What's more important to me than the show is to get this ruling overturned. I don't want this to set a precedent, I don't want other comics to go through what I've been through."

The comic, whose influences include Jimmy Carr, Richard Prior, George Carlin and Frankie Boyle, has now brought his show to Edinburgh and says he's delighted to be making his Fringe debut.

"I've always wanted to perform at the Fringe," he says. "It's the greatest Arts festival in the world.

"Fans can expect to laugh during the show while listening to subject material that might make them feel a little uncomfortable. The first night of my run, a woman in the audience told me 'I didn't want to laugh at what you were saying, but it was so funny that I couldn't help it'. That to me is the greatest compliment.

"I have always loved the art of stand-up, being on stage in front of an audience that gets me is the greatest feeling on earth."

Mike Ward will perform Freedom of Speech isn't Free at the Gilded Balloon Teviot until August 28.