CURRENT CENSORSHIP ISSUES IN CANADA

FREEDOMTOREADvolume 27

Senators Speak Freely

New PIRCs for Free Expression Patsy Aldana Champion of Internet Children’s Lit Roadblocks How Filters From the Brink Hinder Research The Fight to Save Indigenous Languages PLUS Get Involved Ideas for Educators

2011 BOOK AND PERIODICAL COUNCIL

www.freedomtoread.ca The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz A Clockwork Orange Different Seasons The Waiting Dog The Diviners Embracing Skeletons To Kill a Mockingbird The Wars Snow Falling on Cedars And Tango Makes Three The Satanic Verses Of Mice and Men Lives of Girls and Women In the Heat of the Night The First Time The Golden Compass Vue Weekly Asha’s Mums Rolling Stone Three Wishes The Handmaid’s Tale We All Fall Down

www.freedomtoread.ca FREEDOMTOREAD

From the Supreme Court to the streets of the G20 Summit protests, from the halls of residential schools to the Senate floor, this twenty-seventh edition of Freedom to Read covers the shifting landscape of censorship and free expression in Canada today.

In Freedom to Read 2011, we celebrate the heroes of free expression. Peter Carver profiles Patsy Aldana, the tireless advocate against the censorship of children’s literature. And Andrea Bear Nicholas discusses the struggle to save indigenous languages in Canada from extinction.

We explore where we came from and where we are heading. Bryan Palmer takes a look back at the censorship of trade unionists and socialists in Canada. David Gollob looks at the future of journalism as it moves online.

We also examine recent victories for free expression. Kathy English writes about a Supreme Court decision that will likely thaw libel chill for journalists, writers and publishers in Canada.

The Get Involved section includes ideas on how schools, libraries and communities can engage these issues and provides strategies to teach—instead of ban—controversial material.

But this is just a small taste of this year’s Freedom to Read which explores the complexities of free expression. Dig in.

Please send your comments and ideas for future issues of Freedom to Read to the Book and Periodical Council, Suite 107, 192 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C2. ftr Phone: (416) 975-9366. Fax: (416) 975-1839. 20 E-mail: [email protected]. Visit our Web site at www.freedomtoread.ca for more information. 11 THE BOOK AND PERIODICAL COUNCIL (BPC) WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR GENEROUS SPONSORSHIP OF FREEDOM TO READ WEEK 2011:

Canadian Library Association

THE BPC WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND IN-KIND DONATIONS:

reva pomer design

Nunavut Public Library Services

Manitoba Library Association Canadian Library Association

THE BPC THANKS THE FOLLOWING CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS FOR THEIR SPONSORSHIP: THE ANTIGONISH REVIEW, ARC POETRY MAGAZINE, BRIARPATCH MAGAZINE, BROKEN PENCIL, CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK NEWS, CANADIAN DIMENSION, CANADIAN LITERATURE, DESCANT, FELICITER, THE FIDDLEHEAD, THE INTERNATIONAL FREE EXPRESSION REVIEW, QUILL AND QUIRE, STUDIES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE, SUBTERRAIN MAGAZINE, THIS MAGAZINE AND THE WRITERS’ UNION OF CANADA.

THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF TIME AND ENERGY PRODUCING THE KIT AND POSTER AND MAINTAINING THE WEB SITE AT WWW.FREEDOMTOREAD.CA: JOSH BLOCH, BYGGSTUDIO, FRANKLIN CARTER, RON GIDDINGS, PEGGY MCKEE, SCOTT MITCHELL, MARG ANNE MORRISON, REVA POMER, SANDRA RICHMOND AND DAVID WYMAN. WE ALSO THANK THE MEMBERS OF THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION COMMITTEE: HELENA AALTO, RON BROWN, FRANKLIN CARTER, BRENDAN DE CAIRES, TERI DEGLER, BRIANNE DIANGELO, KATE EDWARDS, LESLEY FLETCHER, DAVID KENT, BIANCA LAKOSELJAC, MARK LEIREN-YOUNG, ANNE MCCLELLAND, KATE MCQUAID, MARG ANNE MORRISON (CHAIR), JULIE PAYNE, JANE PYPER, TONI SAMEK AND LAUREN STEWART. THE BPC, ALONG WITH THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION COMMITTEE, THANKS ALL WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FREEDOM TO READ KIT OF 2011. THE BPC GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT OF ITS MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS AND THE CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS.

Book and Periodical Council 2011 FREEDOMTOREAD Contents EDITOR Josh Bloch CONSULTING EDITOR Franklin Carter DESIGN Reva Pomer POSTER DESIGN David Wyman Lawrence Hill Michelle Lang Khalid Sohail Patsy Aldana Andrea Bear Nicholas CONTRIBUTORS Donna Bowman, Ron Brown, 4 Position Statement: Freedom of 29 Award-Winning Activists Peter Carver, Brendan de Caires, Expression and Freedom to Read and Writers of 2010 Teri Degler, Kathy English, 4 Book and Periodical Council 31 Trends in Challenges to Canadian Marc Glassman, David Gollob, Members 2010–11 Library Resources and Policies, Maggie Gosselin, Phyllis Jacklin, 2006–09 Bryan D. Palmer, Shelagh Paterson, 5 News Bytes By Donna Bowman, Alvin Schrader Julie Payne, Toni Samek, By Franklin Carter and Toni Samek Alvin Schrader, Miriam Scribner, 8 Breaking Ground: Khalid Sohail, Moira Wong 32 Because Writers Speak Their Minds Patsy Aldana in Conversation By Khalid Sohail © Book and Periodical Council 2010 By Peter Carver No part of this publication may be reproduced, 34 Black Day for Free Expression stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in 10 Free Expression Gets Freer in Canada any form or by any means without prior written with New Supreme Court Ruling permission of the Book and Periodical Council or, By Julie Payne in the case of photocopying or other reprographic By Kathy English copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright 35 Religious Chill Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). 12 Canada’s Hidden Censorship: By Ron Brown Please credit the Book and Periodical Council Banning Books and Magazines on any copies of kit materials. Forward all at the Border 36 Book Profile: Fearless suggestions for future Freedom to Read kits to the Book and Periodical Council in Toronto. By Franklin Carter Female Journalists The opinions expressed in Freedom to Read 2011 By Teri Degler do not necessarily reflect the official views of 14 Whatever Happened to the the Book and Periodical Council or its member Death of the Newspaper? 37 Book Profile: The News associations. By David Gollob By Peter Steven ISBN 978-0-9739099-6-8 Just the Facts, Ma’am? 16 I’d Like My Coffee Filtered, By Marc Glassman Not My Research FOR MORE By Shelagh Paterson 38 Freedom to Read Week Activities and Events Across Canada 2010 INFORMATION 18 Excerpts from the Senate AND RESOURCES Debate on Freedom of Speech CANADA’S EVENT CALENDAR 20 Freedom of Expression v. Get Involved FOR FREEDOM TO READ Freedom from Contempt: Canada’s Top Court Agrees WEEK • A LIST OF BOOKS to Hear the Whatcott Case 41 Ideas for Educators RECENTLY CHALLENGED IN By Franklin Carter 41 Organize an Essay-Writing Contest CANADA • TIPS ON HOW TO 22 Censorship’s Coercive History: 43 Start a Banned-Book Club OBSERVE FREEDOM TO READ How Libel, Legislation and WEEK • A CHRONOLOGY Lockdowns Have Kept the Lid 44 Speak Out for the Freedom to Read OF BOOK BANNINGS AND on Canadian Socialists and BURNINGS IN WORLD Trade Unionists 45 Challenged Books and Magazines By Bryan D. Palmer HISTORY • POSTER ART 47 Teaching Controversy FOR 27 YEARS OF FREEDOM 25 The Fate of Canadian By Moira Wong and Josh Bloch TO READ WEEK • LINKS TO Independent Bookstores By Josh Bloch 47 Excerpt from A Teaching Resource OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES for Dealing with Controversial • AND MUCH MORE . . . VISIT 26 Canada’s Disappearing Languages: and Sensitive Issues: “Examination WWW.FREEDOMTOREAD.CA Andrea Bear Nicholas in Conversation of the Role of Perspective in Novel By Josh Bloch Study” Position Statement FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND FREEDOM TO READ thebpc A statement of the basic tenets of the Freedom of Expression book and periodical council Committee of the Book and Periodical Council

The Book and Periodical Council is the umbrella organization for associations “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms . . . involved in the writing, editing, publishing, thought, belief, opinion, and expression.” manufacturing, distributing, selling and lend- ing of books and periodicals in Canada. — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

MEMBERS 2010–11 Freedom of expression is a fundamental right of all Canadians, and freedom FULL MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS to read is part of that precious heritage. Our Committee, representing member Access Copyright organizations and associations of the Book and Periodical Council, reaffirms its Association of Canadian Book Wholesalers support of this vital principle and opposes all efforts to suppress writing and Association of Canadian Publishers silence writers. Words and images in their Canadian Authors Association myriad configurations are the substance Canadian Library Association of free expression. Canadian Publishers’ Council The freedom to choose what we read Editors’ Association of Canada does not, however, include the freedom to League of Canadian Poets choose for others. We accept that courts Literary Press Group of Canada Magazines Canada alone have the authority to restrict reading Periodical Marketers of Canada material, a prerogative that cannot be Professional Writers Association of Canada delegated or appropriated. Prior restraint The Writers’ Union of Canada demeans individual responsibility; it is anathema to freedom and democracy. ASSOCIATE MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS Association of Book Publishers of British As writers, editors, publishers, book Columbia manufacturers, distributors, retailers Association of Manitoba Book Publishers and librarians, we abhor arbitrary Book Publishers Association of Alberta interpretations of the law and other British Columbia Library Association attempts to limit freedom of expression. Canadian Children’s Book Centre We recognize court judgements; otherwise, we oppose Canadian Copyright Institute the detention, seizure, destruction or banning of books and periodicals— Ontario Library Association indeed, any effort to deny, repress or sanitize. Censorship does not protect Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario society; it smothers creativity and precludes open debate of controversial issues. PEN Canada The Word on the Street Endorsed by the Book and Periodical Council The Writers’ Trust of Canada February 5, 1997 AFFILIATES Disticor Magazine Distribution Services Fraser Direct Distribution Services TO ORDER KITS AND POSTERS Georgetown Terminal Warehouses Ltd. FREEDOM TO READ kits may be ordered from the Book and Periodical Council Pal Benefits for $18 plus shipping and handling charges. Orders for 10 kits or more, shipped Sameday Worldwide to a single address, receive a 20 per cent discount and may be accompanied by Universal Logistics Inc. a purchase order. Flat, rolled, full-colour posters are available for $10 plus BPC EXECUTIVE shipping and handling charges. GST/HST is included in all prices. Chair: Melissa Pitts (GST/HST#R106801889). All orders are non-refundable. (Association of Canadian Publishers) BOOK AND PERIODICAL COUNCIL Vice Chair: Jack Illingworth 192 Spadina Avenue, Suite 107 (Literary Press Group of Canada) Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C2 Past Chair: Stephanie Fysh Phone: (416) 975-9366 (Editors’ Association of Canada) Fax: (416) 975-1839 Treasurer: Anita Purcell E-mail: [email protected] (Canadian Authors Association) www.freedomtoread.ca BPC STAFF www.theBPC.ca Executive Director: Anne McClelland Program Co-ordinator: Lesley Fletcher

4 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 newsbytes By FRANKLIN CARTER

fraud in the federal Liberal government’s CANADA sponsorship program in Quebec. Later, Leblanc refused to name his informant FIRST NATION IN ALBERTA when he was questioned about her in DEMANDS BOOK BAN court. In November 2010, a First Nation filed a complaint with the Judicial Council of FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SCIENTISTS Alberta about the publication of a book REACT TO MEDIA RESTRICTIONS by a retired judge. On Oct. 18, 2010, the union that rep- The Stoney Nakoda natives of Alberta resents federal government scientists claimed that the release of John Reilly’s launched a Web site to give voice to its Bad Medicine: A Judge’s Struggle for members about their work. Justice in a First Nations Community The Professional Institute of the interfered with an election on a Stoney Public Service of Canada created www. Nakoda reserve. They asked the Judicial PublicScience.ca after learning that the Council to ban the book. Conservative government had placed In his book, John Reilly—who served new restrictions on the ability of scien- as a judge in Alberta for more than 30 tists at Natural Resources Canada to years—sharply criticizes the way that speak to journalists. Scientists must the Stoney Nakoda natives govern their secure approval from the minister’s Bad Medicine by John Reilly reserves. He recommends sweeping (Rocky Mountain Books, 2010) director of communications, for exam- reforms. ple, before they may speak to reporters her speech was cancelled. The univer- The six-member Judicial Council usu- about their research. sity invited her back, however, and she ally rules on a complaint within 90 days. The Web site has already featured talked about her book on Dec. 7. It may reprimand a judge, order an apol- interviews with federal government ogy or take no action. scientists (such as Dr. Kofi Crentsil HIGH COURT BOLSTERS PROTECTION of the Canadian Nuclear Safety PROTESTERS SHUT DOWN OF ANONYMOUS WHISTLEBLOWERS Commission) and experts who JOURNALIST’S SPEECH AT On Oct. 22, 2010, the Supreme Court of understand the importance of public science (such as Dr. David Suzuki). UNIVERSITY Canada unanimously ruled that journal- ists may shield confidential informants When asked what he thought the On Nov. 12, 2010, a small group of pro- from public scrutiny as long as the jour- government’s response would be to the testers prevented Christie Blatchford, a nalists can show that maintaining confi- Web site, Gary Corbett, the institute’s reporter for The Globe and Mail, from dentiality is in the public interest. president, said: “I don’t think we’ll be speaking about her new book at the very well liked, but my members won’t The court established a four-point University of Waterloo in Ontario. put anything in there that will jeopardize test for lower court judges to help them Three of the protesters chained them- their careers. We’ll make sure about decide when journalists may keep their selves together with bicycle locks on the that.” informants’ names secret. But the court stage where Blatchford was scheduled stopped short of recognizing a constitu- to speak. They characterized the report- HIGH COURT RULES ON ACCESS TO tional right to keep all sources secret. er’s book as “racist.” GOVERNMENT INFORMATION Blatchford’s book is called Helpless: The Supreme Court of Canada also On June 17, 2010, the Supreme Court Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and returned the case of Daniel Leblanc, a of Canada unanimously recognized the Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Globe and Mail reporter, to the Superior importance of information in a democ- Us. It focuses on the crisis at the Six Court of Quebec for a ruling. racy as well as a right to obtain sup- Nations reserve and the Douglas Creek In 2004, Leblanc relied on a secret pressed information that is necessary Estates in Ontario. source—whom he nicknamed Ma for informed public debate. Blatchford expressed frustration when Chouette (“My Sweetie”)—to expose CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 5 NEWS BYTES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 IMPRISONED CHINESE DISSIDENT But the court also ruled that citizens lack an automatic right to get confiden- WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE tial information from the government. On Oct. 8, 2010, the Norwegian Nobel The government may withhold informa- Committee announced its decision to tion from the public when that informa- award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu tion is protected by privilege or cabinet Xiaobo, a human rights activist in China. confidentiality or when the release of In announcing the decision, the com- the information would interfere with the mittee recognized Liu’s “long and non- operation of government. violent struggle for fundamental human The court ruled that an internal police rights in China.” report into a botched police inves- Liu was a leading author of Charter tigation in Ontario in 1983 could be 08, a 19-point manifesto that promotes suppressed without violating constitu- human rights and democratic reform in tional guarantees to free expression and China. informed public debate. In 2009, a Chinese court sentenced The court returned the case to Liu to 11 years in prison and deprived Ontario’s freedom of information com- him of his political rights for two years missioner for further consideration. for “inciting subversion of state power.” In 2010, Harvard University Press Imperial Canada Inc. by Alain Deneault announced its decision to publish Liu’s B.C. PUBLISHER FORGES AHEAD (Talonbooks, 2010) WITH MINING BOOK writing for the first time in English in Early in 2010, a B.C. publisher’s plan to 2012. The planned book does not yet publish a book about mining was dis- INTERNATIONAL have a title. rupted by the arrival of a letter from a Canadian mining company’s lawyers. DUTCH ANTI-ISLAM POLITICIAN INDIANS BURN AND BAN ROHINTON Talonbooks planned to publish AVOIDS CENSURE IN COURT MISTRY NOVEL IN MUMBAI Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of In October 2010, the trial of Geert In late September 2010, nationalist Choice for the World’s Mining Industries Wilders in the Netherlands ground to a students burned copies of Such a Long by Alain Deneault in May 2010. The book halt. Journey, Rohinton Mistry’s acclaimed promised to provide a critical look at the novel, at the gates of the University of Wilders is the leader of the Freedom way mining firms and the government Mumbai in India. party, a member of the Dutch parliament behave in Canada. The students also pressed the univer- and a critic of Islam. He has compared sity to stop teaching the book. Within On Feb. 12, however, Talonbooks the Koran to Mein Kampf and wants 24 hours of receiving the demand, Vice- received a letter from the lawyers who to ban the Koran throughout the Chancellor Rajan Welukar dropped the represent Barrick Gold Corporation. Netherlands. The letter demanded “a copy of any novel from the syllabus. Welukar later Wilders is on trial for publicly and portion of the manuscript or text of said that he was merely following the deliberately insulting a group of people Imperial Canada Inc. that makes direct instructions of the university’s Board of (Muslims) because of their religion. If or indirect reference to Barrick, Sutton Studies. convicted, he faces time in prison or a Resources Ltd., or to any of their past or Aditya Thackeray, the leader of the fine. present subsidiaries, affiliates, directors nationalist students, demanded the ban or officers.” The letter promised legal On Oct. 15, public prosecutors because he objected to the “obscene action to protect Barrick’s reputation if declared that Wilders was not guilty of and vulgar language” in the novel and to Talonbooks failed to comply. discriminating against Muslims nor of negative references to India’s nationalist Talonbooks considered cancelling pub- inciting hatred against them. Prosecutors politicians, including his grandfather. lication of the book to avoid a costly law- urged the court to dismiss the case. On Oct. 19, Mistry—who lives in suit but eventually agreed to let Barrick A few days later, a judicial oversight Canada—sharply criticized the censor- vet the manuscript so that the published panel ordered a new trial after finding ship of his book. Mistry’s statement book does not damage Barrick’s reputa- an appearance of bias against Wilders appeared in the pages of Indian news- tion. Talonbooks also set a new publica- among the judges. No date has been set papers, such as The Hindu, and on tion date in December 2010. for the new trial. YouTube. Many writers, liberals and

6 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 intellectuals also condemned the ban. about the true principles of Islam and … Such a Long Journey was published democracy.” in 1991. It won the Governor General’s By Oct. 26, 2010, more than 160 Literary Award for fiction in 1991. people had signed the statement on the journal’s Web site. IRANIAN-CANADIAN “BLOGFATHER” SENTENCED IN IRAN PROPOSED BONFIRE OF KORANS On Sept. 28, 2010, an Iranian court sen- PROVOKES WORRY, ANGER tenced Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian- On Sept. 9, 2010, Terry Jones—a Canadian blogger and activist, to 19.5 Christian minister in Florida—called years in prison. off his plan to burn a stack of Korans The court convicted Derakhshan, 35, on Sept. 11, the ninth anniversary of al- of collaborating with “enemy states” Qaeda’s biggest terrorist attack on the and of publishing “propaganda against United States. the Islamic system,” reported Iran’s Senior members of the U.S. govern- Mashregh News, which quoted a judicial ment—including President Barack source. Obama and Defense Secretary Robert The court found Derakhshan guilty of Gates—had urged Jones to drop his “promoting counter-revolutionary cells plan because, they said, it would stoke and insulting Islamic sanctities.” Muslim anger. Years earlier, Derakhshan—who is In September, Muslims in Jakarta known as the “blogfather”—helped and Kabul demonstrated against the introduce blogging and podcasting in HOSSEIN DERAKHSHAN Photo provided by CJFE proposed desecration of the Koran. In Farsi to Iran. Thousands of critics of Shaffer is a veteran of the war in Tangmarg, northern India, Muslim Iran’s theocracy used these tools to Afghanistan. He earned a Bronze Star rioters burned down a Christian express their views. for his service. missionary school. Lawrence Cannon, Canada’s min- ister of foreign affairs, criticized the AMERICAN MUSLIM JOURNAL AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION sentence. PEN Canada and Canadian DEFENDS FREE SPEECH NAMES MOST CHALLENGED BOOKS Journalists for Free Expression called for On Sept. 21, 2010, The American Muslim In 2009, the most frequently challenged Derakhshan’s release from prison. published “A Defense of Free Speech by books in U.S. public libraries belonged American and Canadian Muslims.” to a series of young-adult novels writ- PENTAGON DESTROYS U.S. The statement upholds “the First ten by Lauren Myracle, announced the SOLDIER’S BOOK ON AFGHANISTAN Amendment of the U.S. Constitution American Library Association (ALA). In September 2010, officials of the U.S. and the Canadian Charter of Rights The three novels—ttyl (Talk to You Department of Defense bought and and Freedoms. Both protect freedom Later), ttfn (Ta Ta for Now) and l8r, destroyed 9,500 copies of a book about of religion and speech, because both g8r—were written entirely in the style the war in Afghanistan because they protections are fundamental to defend- of instant text messages. The books feared it revealed military secrets. ing minorities from the whims of the tell the story of three fictional teenaged Officials bought the entire first majority.” girls. printing of Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer’s The statement also unconditionally Americans who sought to have these Operation Dark Heart for $250,000. On condemns “any intimidation or threats books removed from libraries objected Sept. 20, they destroyed all copies, even of violence directed against any indi- to offensive language and references though Shaffer had worked closely with vidual or group exercising the rights of to nudity and drugs. They claimed the military officials when he was writing freedom of religion and speech, even series was sexually explicit and unsuited the book. when that speech may be perceived as to the intended readers’ age group. On Sept. 24, Shaffer’s publisher—St. hurtful or reprehensible.” In 2009, the ALA’s Office for Martin’s Press—released the second The journal, which is published in Intellectual Freedom received 460 printing of Operation Dark Heart for sale the United States, urges all Muslims reports of challenges to materials (i.e., in stores. The second printing features to “refrain from violence … to sideline books, magazines, DVDs) in U.S. public cuts and alterations which were ordered the voices of hate” and to engage “our libraries. In 2008, the number of report- by the U.S. Department of Defense. communities in constructive dialogue ed challenges was 513. 

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 7 PERSPECTIVES Breaking

Patsy Aldana in Conversation with Peter Carver Ground ATSY ALDANA is the publisher of Groundwood Books in Toronto. The company, which was established in 1978, produces children’s books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. The books often tell the stories of young people who have been margin- alized in society and whose voices are not heard. Groundwood Books publishes many of Canada’s leading authors and has won many awards. PIn recent years, at least two of Groundwood’s titles have been attacked for their content. In 2010, B’nai Brith Canada described The Shepherd’s Granddaughter—a novel about strife in contemporary Palestine— as “anti-Israel propaganda” and demanded its removal from a recommended-reading list in Ontario’s public schools. In 2006, the Ontario branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress complained about Three Wishes, a book about children affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and urged public school boards in Ontario to deny schoolchildren access to the book. At least five school boards complied with the request. Editor and author Peter Carver sat down with Ms. Aldana to talk about why she publishes the books that she does and what her views are about freedom to read. The following transcript is an edited version of their conversation.

P.C. What lies behind your convictions about what children are P.A. Yes, and there’s also the hypocrisy in what is applied to ready to read? books as opposed to other media that children watch. We know P.A. I had read a fair bit of children’s literature and I certainly children are exposed to all kinds of information and material. If thought that kids’ books should tell the truth about children. I it is in a book, it causes panic, but if it is on television it is com- guess I always knew that there were some people who did not pletely normal. like that idea very much. I had children and I knew perfectly well P.C. Books are easy to take away from people. what their range of reality was. I had always known that. You P.A. They are, and they are supposed to be this privileged space respect the reader’s intelligence. or something. My parents gave me absolute freedom; basically, I Plus you also remember your own childhood. I grew up in was free to read anything. I remember that I wanted to read Enid Guatemala and I saw everything. There was a guy who would Bagnold’s National Velvet when I was in Grade 3 or 4, and the come out and expose himself to us every day. There were people librarian said it was too old for me. My mother wrote a letter that fighting and we saw dead bodies in the street. I always assumed said, “Patsy can read whatever she wants.” that children’s reality could be quite diverse without childhood— P.C. You started as a publisher with the belief that children were the essential nature of childhood—being destroyed. So I guess I able to accept anything in the books they read. What kind of have never been that afraid of it. challenges did you face because of this belief? P.C. In this country, we are a bit more protective. P.A. An example is Sarah Ellis’s The Baby Project. In the book, the

8 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 baby dies and the brother says “fuck” or “shit,” one or the other. That caused a huge furor. Or The Charlotte Stories by Teddy Jam. There are three stories—funny, touching and true—seen from the point of view of a very realistic, honest five-year-old girl. People complained that they were too mean or whatever. P.C. And now you have published Anne Laurel Carter’s The Shepherd’s Granddaughter. P.A. Some say that children aren’t old enough to understand it. That’s what they said about Deborah Ellis’s Three Wishes. Children can’t be exposed to people being at war with each other, but it is fine to read about the Holocaust in Grade 1. To me it is so hypocritical. Hana’s Suitcase [by Karen Levine] is in every single school; it is about a girl who dies, killed by people because she is a Jew. That is something that Grade 1 students can understand, but they cannot understand the Palestinians’ situation? That is such a complete crock. P.C. So what do you do when a book like The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is attacked? P.A. You have to fight it. You have to challenge it. You have to call it what it is: an attempt to silence the voices that don’t fit into the political agenda of certain groups. That is what it is. That’s all it is. It has got nothing to do with anything else. Nobody is allowed to talk about it in Canada. Even in Israel they talk about it more than they do here. But in Canada we have this terrible silencing. P.C. So how do you react when a book like The Shepherd’s Granddaughter is challenged? Do you seek out the media? P.A. I have to say I really felt dread and I didn’t want to do anything about it. First of all, because it takes so much time. Secondly, because I don’t like being called an anti-Semite. It bothers me. This is obviously an issue that touches me personally because PATSY ALDANA of Matt.* I hate being in that situation. On the other hand, I feel quite strongly about it and so when you have to fight, you have to fight. I didn’t publish The Shepherd’s Granddaughter to cause *Canadian author Matt Cohen (1942–99) was Ms. Aldana’s husband.—Ed.

PATSY ALDANA CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

The Baby Project by Sarah Ellis The Charlotte Stories by Teddy Jam The Shepherd’s Granddaughter by Anne Three Wishes by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2009) (Groundwood Books, 1997) Laurel Carter (Groundwood Books, 2008) (Groundwood Books, 2004) For more information about the challenges to The Shepherd’s Granddaughter, see page 46.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 9 PERSPECTIVES

RAISING THE BAR Free Expression Gets Freer with New Supreme Court Ruling

By KATHY ENGLISH ever released by the Supreme Court,” Bruser, who has long worked closely in ital new freedoms says Paul Schabas, the lawyer who led the Star’s newsroom, regards the new are PIRC-olating the team that argued for the Toronto libel defence as “a game changer” that in Canada for all Star in the case that established the new will expand the scope of investigative of us who report, legal defence. journalism in Canada. write, broadcast, The decision resulted from an appeal The PIRC defence gives writers, blog, tweet or by Canada’s largest-circulation newspa- broadcasters and bloggers greater legal communicateV by any other means per of a $1.45-million damage award for protection in reporting on matters in the known—or yet to be discovered. a 2001 article about Ontario developer public interest—even if they can’t prove Media lawyers expect it will likely take Peter Grant, who had applied to expand the truth of allegations against individu- a decade to determine the full extent a private golf course on his lakeside als who believe their reputations have of the December 2009 decision by the property. Grant, a friend and supporter been harmed by those words. Supreme Court of Canada that opened of former premier Mike Harris, sued the Until this defence existed, libel law- the door to fuller freedom of expression Star over the report which quoted local suits required the media to prove the in this country. But all agree that the residents’ concerns that the golf course truth of whatever was published or new defence of “public interest respon- was a “done deal” because of Grant’s broadcast. With this new ruling, we sible communication”—widely known as Tory party ties. can expect less “libel chill”—the self- the PIRC defence—is a landmark in the John Honderich, chair of Torstar’s censorship that’s rooted in fear of annals of free expression history. board of directors, hails the ruling as “a facing an expensive lawsuit. “It is the most significant libel decision triumph of press freedom.” Lawyer Bert Canadian journalists have rightly

PATSY ALDANA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 a comedy. They are not allowed to be tested on their reading in a scandal. I published it because I thought it was a really good the school system. They hardly use textbooks at all. book on a subject that really needs to be talked about. In one school, I saw a presentation where four mothers pre- P.C. Can you talk about some of the highlights of your work as sented four different versions of The Three Little Pigs, including president of the International Board on Books for Young People Helen Oxenbury’s version of The Three Little Wolves and the Big (IBBY) and on freedom to read issues? Bad Pig. The kids got to vote on the one that they liked best, and then they got to talk about why they liked this one. The mothers P.A. I think it’s a hopeful situation. For example, in China there is talked about why they had chosen the version that they had cho- censorship of sexuality. When we went to Macao four years ago sen. Everyone is totally involved in this conversation. for our conference, the Chinese publishers said that they only wanted bestsellers. They were very commercial. Then I went to And I think it really was the impact of the IBBY conference. I the Shenzhen school district last year and the books they were think we really did help to change things there, to start people buying had really changed. It’s really evolving. It’s true they are thinking. And the books that they had in the schools, especially not buying books about sex, but they are buying much better, the picture books. Chinese publishers bought a great variety of quality books. And they are now doing reading promotion that books, and I think that is where we can make a difference. we would give our eyes and teeth to do. They have free reading. P.C. So how does this affect kids as they become adults? They read freely. Their summer reading is free. P.A. I said to one of the members of the school board: “You are P.C. What does that mean? really creating thinking adults.” He said: “Yeah, we need think- P.A. They can read whatever they want. They have book clubs in ers in this country.” So freedom to read—this is the literal mani- every class so that kids share the books. Kids get to talk about festation of that. And I think that is so hopeful.  their favourite books. They do these little postcards about them, Peter Carver is a writer, editor and publisher principally in the put them in little envelopes outside doors and then borrow from field of books for young readers. He co-founded the Freedom to one other. My favourite book might be a horror story. It might be Read kit which he researched and edited for 20 years.

10 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 lauded the ruling that brings Canadian and responsibly on issues in the public law in line with common law in the interest. “The higher the standard of United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand diligence in verifying information, the and South Africa, but stops short of the better,” Bruser advises journalists. greater freedom of expression that law It’s widely expected that the PIRC in the United States provides. defence will raise the bar for standards In essence, the defence provides jour- of ethical journalism in Canada. nalists with the right to be wrong. It says The ruling reads like a primer on best that perfection is too high a standard for practices for ethical journalists. In defin- writers and broadcasters, a demand that ing factors of “responsible” communica- results in silencing of critical comment. tion, the court addresses the obligation Though lawyers who argued against of those who communicate to be diligent the new libel defence suggest it would in verifying information. allow journalists to publish untrue arti- CHIEF JUSTICE BEVERLEY MCLACHLIN The PIRC defence impels writers and cles with impunity, the court ruled that Photo by Andrew Balfour © Supreme Court of Canada broadcasters to be fair, to seek both traditional libel defences do not reflect First and foremost, sides of a story, to thoroughly assess Canada’s Charter right to free expression. the reliability of sources and to care- “[T]he current law with respect to free expression is fully consider the use of anonymous statements that are reliable and impor- sources. And the defence makes clear tant to public debate does not give essential to the to deadline-driven journalists that the adequate weight to the constitutional desire to get a scoop is not an excuse for value of free expression,” said Chief proper functioning irresponsible reporting. Justice Beverley McLachlin in the ruling of democratic “Freedom does not negate respon- that is widely admired for its eloquence sibility. It is vital that the media act and accessibility. governance. responsibly in reporting facts on matters “First and foremost, free expression public interest is to be encouraged” and of public concern, holding themselves is essential to the proper functioning must not be thwarted by “overly solici- to the highest journalistic standards,” of democratic governance,” McLachlin tous regard for personal reputation,” she McLachlin wrote. wrote. “Second, the free exchange of stated. While the full implications of the PIRC ideas is an ‘essential precondition of the The court named the new defence defence will take some time to play out search for truth.’ “public interest responsible communica- within the law and communication, it has “Freewheeling debate on matters of tion” to make it clear that the defence already provoked much discussion and is available not just to the press but “to led to many new questions about profes- The Media Coalition anyone who publishes material of public sional standards among journalists and  interest in any medium.” journalism organizations. The following organizations formed a coalition, Said McLachlin: “[T]he traditional Journalism is not a licenced profession intervened in the appeal of Grant v. Torstar media are rapidly being complemented such as law or medicine, so who defines Corp. and argued for the creation of a legal the professional standards and best defence of “public interest responsible by new ways of communicating on mat- communication” against libel charges: ters of public interest, many of them practices expected by the responsible communication defence? How will the Ad Idem/Canadian Media Lawyers Association online, which do not involve journalists. courts assess whether journalists have Book and Periodical Council These new disseminators of news and acted fairly and responsibly in gathering Canadian Association of Journalists information should, absent good reasons information? What about “citizen jour- Canadian Journalists for Free Expression for exclusion, be subject to the same nalists” who blog and tweet? What stan- Canadian Newspaper Association laws as established media outlets.” dards apply to those ubiquitous forms of Canadian Publishers’ Council This important ruling, however, is by no means a free pass for anyone to circu- communication? Magazines Canada late false accusations and innuendo. Only time will provide these answers. PEN Canada The court stated that the right to free In the meantime, freedom of expression Professional Writers Association of Canada expression “does not confer a licence to in Canada has entered a bold new era.  RTNDA Canada/The Association of Electronic Journalists ruin reputation.” Thus, the new defence Kathy English is public editor of the The Writers’ Union of Canada is only available to those who can prove Toronto Star and a former professor at to the courts that they reported fairly Toronto’s Ryerson School of Journalism.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 11 PERSPECTIVES

CANADA’S HIDDEN CENSORSHIP:

Banning

Books and Magazines at the Border By FRANKLIN CARTER erature and added “printed papers” and complained in Parliament that current n Canada, the censorship “photographs” to the list of items that laws had failed to prevent Canadians of “objectionable” books could be seized at the border. from reading imported periodicals that and magazines occurs at In these early decades, Customs offi- advertised drugs and instruments used the international border. cials used Victorian standards to decide in abortions. The censorship is legal, whether imported publications were “Vile literature is secretly and widely bureaucratic and largely illegal. They also enjoyed considerable circulated in Canada, literature of a char- Ihidden from public view. It is also discretion. Individual officers at the bor- acter calculated to undermine the mor- more than 160 years old. Canadians der often decided for themselves what als of the people, and entail the most seem to like their censorship this way books and newspapers to ban. They disastrous consequences on society,” he because they rarely challenge it. rarely, if ever, held public hearings or said. “Improper and obscene or semi- The practice of censoring publications made announcements about their obscene literature is imported into this at the border is rooted in colonial times. decisions. They kept few records. country and openly sold.” In 1847, the government of the province In 1895, the government in Ottawa In 1896, during a meeting in Montreal of Canada (i.e., newly united Upper and circulated its first consolidated list of of the National Council of Women of Lower Canada) passed the Customs Act banned publications to Customs officers Canada, a subcommittee reported that “a which banned the importation of “books at the border. The list had only 47 news- considerable amount of prohibited and and drawings of an immoral or indecent paper and magazine titles (and all were impure literature” was being imported character.” In 1859, the government published in the United States), but into Canada and marketed to girls added “paintings and prints” to the ban. the list didn’t limit what border officials and boys. Among other measures, the In 1867, shortly after Canadian confed- could censor. They remained free to ban subcommittee recommended that the eration, the first session of Parliament publications that weren’t on the list. government amend the Criminal Code to applied the censorship clauses in the Yet some Canadians thought that penalize the circulation of such literature. Customs Act to the entire country. Then, censorship at the border wasn’t restric- Appended to the report of the NCWC’s in 1868, Parliament banned the importa- tive enough. In 1892, John Charlton, the subcommittee was a list of prohibited tion of “treasonous” and “seditious” lit- Liberal MP for Norfolk North in Ontario, U.S. publications. They included the

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Detroit Sunday Sun, The Home and of Loneliness. These literary works had Night, officials worked in secrecy, co- Fireside and The Police Gazette. been banned because the authors had operated closely with the RCMP and Meanwhile, the number of titles on depicted sex or had used profane words. denied MPs’ requests for information. Ottawa’s consolidated list of banned In 1956, Customs officials banned In 1985, the Federal Court of Appeal publications grew. In 1914, Customs Peyton Place, a best-selling novel by ruled on the law that justified Customs officials deemed a total of 100 books Grace Metalious. In 1958, Dell Publishing censorship. The court struck down the and periodicals “immoral or indecent.” appealed the ban to the Tariff Board. words “immoral or indecent” in the ban During and following World War I, offi- The board, which rarely heard appeals because they placed an overly vague Banning cials added socialist and communist of book bans, decided that Peyton Place restriction on Canadians’ Charter right publications to the list. In 1923, the had been misclassified as indecent and to free expression. Parliament moved Department of Customs and Excise qui- allowed the novel into Canada. swiftly to restore the crippled censor- etly banned James Joyce’s Ulysses. In a postscript to their decision, ship powers of Canada Customs. Within From 1933 to 1939, the National members of the Tariff Board declared three weeks of the ruling, Parliament Revenue Review—the department’s that they did not consider themselves had replaced the ban on importing the in-house journal—published self- or Customs officers “qualified to make “immoral or indecent” with a suppos- congratulatory accounts of the depart- the kind of decision involved in classify- edly unambiguous ban on importing the ment’s censorship successes at the ing books” under the Tariff Code. “Such “obscene.” Parliament also banned the border. Articles such as “Stemming decisions,” they said, “should be made importation of “hate propaganda.” the Tide of Obscene Publications” and by courts with appropriate jurisdiction in The most serious challenge to “Checking a Putrid Flood” boasted of criminal matters.” Customs officials’ censorship powers the interception of banned books and The Tariff Board’s recommenda- was yet to come. In 1990, a bookstore magazines and stressed the need for tion had important consequences. in Vancouver called Little Sister’s filed vigilance to keep Canada pure. Parliament relieved the board of its a lawsuit in B.C.’s Supreme Court to Border Only a few journalists criticized ancient but little-used authority to prevent Canada Customs from censoring Customs censorship. In 1924, Hector hear appeals about banned literature. works with homosexual themes. In 1994, Charlesworth published “The Customs Henceforth, importers could appeal a a six-week trial in open court laid bare Department’s Book Censorship” in ban by the deputy minister to a judge the workings of Customs censorship Saturday Night. In 1935, J. Ross McLean sitting in an open court. and revealed that officers at the border published “Bad Books in Canada” in the Meanwhile, George Nowlan, the seized many publications—such as the same magazine. In 1946, the American minister of national revenue (1957–62), novels of Jane Rule—that were legally author James Farrell complained in tried to reform Customs censorship. He published and sold inside Canada. Canadian Forum that Canada had disliked the arbitrary and often capri- In 2000, the Supreme Court of Canada banned the importation of his novel cious way Customs officers banned lit- ruled on the dispute between Little Bernard Clare. But these criticisms had erature. In 1958, Nowlan disbanded the Sister’s and Canada Customs. The court no effect on the government’s conduct. consolidated list of banned publications. declared that Customs officials had In the years after World War II, an In 1962, he instructed officials to stop acted wrongly by routinely seizing, unprecedented number and variety of banning books at the border unless the turning back and destroying imported paperback books flooded the market books had been judged legally obscene publications with homosexual themes. and prompted Customs officials to ban in court. But Customs officials kept their But the court also upheld the constitu- more titles. By 1946, 632 titles appeared power to seize banned publications. tionality of government censorship of on the consolidated list of banned pub- The Nowlan era of restraint was short- “obscene” works. In the years that fol- lications; 370 were books and 262 were lived. By 1967, government worries lowed the ruling, Little Sister’s reported periodicals. By 1952, 660 titles appeared about pornography and radical political that Canada Customs still censored its on the list; 574 were books. Between literature put Customs officials back into imported goods. 1952 and 1957, officials added another their familiar role of judging for them- Canadian society today is more per- 503 book titles to the list. selves what ought to be banned. missive than it was 160 or even 60 years In 1949, in Maclean’s magazine, Blair In 1980, the Prohibited Importation ago. The era of censoring classic litera- Fraser revealed the names of some of Section of Canada Customs in Ottawa ture has largely ended. But federal offi- the banned books: William Faulkner’s listed approximately 35,000 banned cials at the border retain the authority Sanctuary, Norman Mailer’s The Naked titles on index cards. According to to ban some publications. They can be and the Dead and Radclyffe Hall’s Well Hawley Black, a reporter for Saturday expected to use it in the future. 

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 13 PERSPECTIVES Whatever Happened to the Death of the Newspaper

By DAVID GOLLOB

n the dark days of 2008–09, as auto industry layoffs While just a handful of bloggers made real money, aggrega- churned swaths of suburban real estate in Michigan tors such as Google that facilitated the feeding frenzy soaked and southern Ontario into the South Bronx, it was hard up the revenues big media once monopolized. Advertisers, long to find an atmosphere of apocalypse more pungent than suspicious of their claims to deliver eyeballs, now had options. in the newsrooms of North America. Internet ad spending began overtaking conventional media IYes, cynicism is in a reporter’s genes. But even in this narrow channels. The business model that supported professional world of glasses half empty and no theory without holes, the (read “expensive”) content produced by trained journalists was gloom was decidedly toxic this time. broken beyond repair. In Canada, at least, that is what private broadcasters told the CRTC as they warned that they could not Everywhere, it seemed, newspapers were folding. Survivors afford to provide local news anymore. clung on by sending their best (read “expensive”) journalists packing. Even the venerable New York Times had to lay off tal- People who worry about the importance of an informed public ent and go begging to a Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim. Optics to the health of modern democracy woke up in the middle of the apart, in a country with restrictions on foreign media ownership, night bathed in cold sweat. (How do I know it was cold? Trust that was a big deal. me, I was one of them.) We worried that if news media can’t play their accountability role we face a dangerous new menace. Not Canada’s largest media empire—CanWest Global Communi- autocracy: idiotocracy. cations—slid into bankruptcy. Television stations once worth mil- lions sold for a dollar. Publicly traded media companies became So, what happened to the disappearing newspaper? I asked penny stocks. On Wall Street, investment bank Morgan Stanley the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) for the latest data on had declared the newspaper industry dead and stopped covering advertising and circulation revenues (disclosure—I once worked it. Thousands of professional journalists lost their jobs. there). Well, no surprise, revenues are down. And it’s significant. The impact of recession translates into a revenue decline of 21 Insiders knew the recession had made the crisis facing news- per cent in 2008–09, CNA says. At that rate, you would have papers a perfect storm. It was already an old story: the Internet thought more newspapers would have gone out of business. was killing them. Publishers had made a colossal, historic mistake by providing content for free in a digital environment But they have not. People just think they did. where bloggers in pyjamas with zero overhead had a licence to There were 96 English and French paid-for dailies in Canada compete for revenue on an equal footing. in 2009, CNA says. That’s just two fewer than in 2008 and Of course, you didn’t need a licence. All you needed was a three fewer than in 2007. Yes, a bunch of free dailies owned laptop and a broadband connection. Suddenly anyone could be a by CanWest died. But they were mostly low-risk ventures with publisher, grabbing stuff off the Net, dressing it up with strident limited life expectancy. opinion and voilà! The consumer was served. There was no way Circulation numbers are a little more troubling. Canada’s daily to stuff the genie of free content back into the bottle, no matter paid circulation stood at 4.1 million copies on an average pub- how hard they tried. lishing day in 2009, and 26.9 million copies in an average week,

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according to CNA. That’s a little more than half a million daily copies fewer than in 2007, when 30.6 million copies were sold weekly. The chorus of Cassandras chiming that “nobody reads newspapers anymore” cannot dismiss the four million of us who still buy one every day. No apocalypse, for now. In the meantime, the CanWest empire has been broken up and competition to acquire its newspaper assets was suddenly very keen. Okay, so they’re not worth the billions the Aspers paid Conrad Black’s Hollinger. But Bay Street still sees value. Newspapers may survive, but they will have lost something important along the way. You are more likely today to hear in those famous water-cooler exchanges that someone saw some- thing in a clip from Jon Stewart’s show on YouTube than to hear she saw it in a newspaper or on CBC’s The National. Newspapers, like all mass media platforms delivering traditional news content and informed analysis, have lost relevance. Good or bad for democracy? Good or bad for freedom of expression? Huge questions. Who knows? Prognostication is a dangerous business. Remember the armies of citizen journalists who just yesterday were going to be the salvation of truth and muckraking? Where have they gone? Suddenly anyone could be a In the absence of fact, there will always be opinion, and so publisher, grabbing stuff off I venture mine. If mass media lost relevance, it’s because a critical mass of people suddenly got smarter, faster, than the the Net, dressing it up with professionals who had previously assumed they were truth’s indispensable guardians. Irrelevance is the price of arrogance. strident opinion and voilà! What mass media are having to learn—and there is hope The consumer was served. because some people on the newsroom floor seem to get it—is that their customers need to be treated as equals. Credibility, in this brave new digital world, is something they have to compete ing fact-gathering and corroboration, an ever-diminishing corps for and earn. And in a free society, that is surely a good thing. of professionally trained journalists is tweeting its little heart out The democratizing impact of the Internet’s limitless access in a desperate effort to win back an audience that doesn’t love and infinite channels is seismic, and positively so. But there’s them anymore. another side to the story. What is the point of this cacophony For those who worry about such things, more cold sweat is in of opinion if it must wobble like an upside-down pyramid on an store.  ever-diminishing foundation of fact? There is a risk to democracy David Gollob is president of the Canadian Committee for World when instead of generating solid information through painstak- Press Freedom and a former journalist. His views are his alone.

The fact is we are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.”

— E.M. Forster (1879-1970), British author, in ❝www.freedomtoread.ca “The Tercentenary of the Areopagitica” (1944)

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 15 PERSPECTIVES

I’d Like My Coffee

Filt Not My ered Research

By SHELAGH PATERSON software installed on all computers at section and provide unfiltered Internet public libraries. access in other areas. e rely on the Internet In Ontario, for example, an opposition But when Gerry Martiniuk introduced to provide informa- politician in the legislature introduced a his bill in 2009, people were outraged tion. We search online private member’s bill in the fall of 2009. at the thought of children viewing for data on everything Gerry Martiniuk’s bill requires, among online pornography in public libraries. fromW personal health to film reviews other measures, the installation of Of course, library staff do not want to to recipes. And becauseX we don’t all Internet filters on all public and school expose children to porn either, but put- have Internet access in our homes, library computers. The goal is to prevent ting Internet filters on library computers we often rely on computers in public young people from seeing pornography will not solve the problem. Here is why: libraries to find information online. on the Net. 1. While Internet filters can effectively But what if you visited your local People already use Internet filters to block what they have been programmed library to research a serious medical prevent young people from deliberately to block (e.g., “offensive” keywords), condition and couldn’t find anything or inadvertently finding inappropriate they don’t block everything. Internet fil- online? What if you needed book Web sites. Some parents, for example, ters set up false expectations of security. reviews for a school project and got few install filtering software on the family 2. Internet filters inadvertently block or no results? What if Internet filtering computer. The software blocks Web sites sites that contain useful and valid infor- software on your library’s computers that parents deem pornographic. It can mation. Examples include Web sites prevented you from seeing some of your also block Web sites with certain politi- about sexual orientation, legal issues search results? cal or religious views. and health conditions such as breast Internet filtering limits your freedom School libraries also limit access to cancer. of inquiry and your freedom to read. It online educational resources. Many Internet filtering programs block Web is as censorious as book banning. And public libraries put Internet filters on sites in many ways. The more popular some Canadians want Internet filtering computer workstations in the children’s applications block sites that contain

16 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 certain keywords, sites that do not to online? Do you want censors to erode are not exposed to offensive or porno- match a list of acceptable Web sites, and your intellectual freedom? graphic sites? communication platforms such as chat Public libraries uphold intellectual Libraries have a role in informing rooms. Some Internet filtering programs freedom. The Ontario Library Associ- and educating their customers. Most determine whether to block a Web site ation’s Statement on the Intellectual libraries post their Internet-use policies after a pixel scan detects certain colours Rights of the Individual says “that it is on their Web sites. A policy typically or tones in an image. the responsibility of libraries to maintain lists the following points: But Internet filters cannot interpret the right of intellectual freedom and to Be considerate of the people around a person’s motivation or put an online implement it consistently in the selec- you when you use the Internet. search into context. They cannot replace tion of books, periodicals, films, record- Respect the privacy of the people a person’s judgment. ings, and other materials, and in the around you who are using the Internet. If you type the word “Nazi” at a com- provision of access to electronic sources puter terminal, are you searching for his- of information, including access to the Be a responsible parent. You, as a torical resources? Are you looking to join Internet.” parent or guardian, should supervise a white supremacist group? Or are you The OLA’s statement also says it is your child’s Internet use. Be aware that trying to recall the name of a Quentin “part of the library’s service to its public even filtered computers do not block all Tarantino movie? Internet filters can’t to resist any attempt by any individual inappropriate content. tell. Depending on the strictness of your or group within the community it serves Be aware of the law. In the library, you Internet filter’s settings, your search to abrogate or curtail access to infor- should not try to gain access to illegal could produce a mixture of historical mation, the freedom to read, view and content on the Internet. You may be held resources and politically extreme Web listen by demanding the removal of, or responsible. sites or no hits at all. restrictions to, library information In addition, many libraries position Internet filters also cannot decide sources in any format.” their computers carefully and install what is acceptable and what is not. Only But if Internet filtering is ineffective screen shields to ensure that computer people can decide. Do you want a few and threatens intellectual freedom as users have privacy at their terminals and people in your community deciding what well, how do public libraries ensure that that people walking by are not distract- you should and should not have access people have access to information but ed by images on computer screens. So far we have been fortunate in Canada. In the United States, most Internet workstations in public libraries Further Reading are filtered. The result is limited access NET SAFE; NET SMART to information in the very place you’d CANADIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION expect to have complete access to http://www.cla.ca/netsafe/netsafe.pdf information. Author Doris Lessing captured the BE WEB AWARE spirit of the library when she wrote the MEDIA AWARENESS NETWORK following lines: “With a library you are http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/be_web_aware/index.cfm free, not confined by temporary politi- FILTERS AND FILTERING cal climates. It is the most democratic AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION of institutions because no one—but no http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/ifissues/filtersfiltering.cfm one at all—can tell you what to read and when and how.” INTERNET ACCESS POLICIES: CANADIAN RESOURCES UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA We should strive to keep it that way.  http://www.ualberta.ca/~aschrade/internet/resources.htm Shelagh Paterson is the executive direc- STATEMENT ON THE INTELLECTUAL tor of the Ontario Library Association RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL (OLA). The OLA consists of more than ONTARIO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 5,000 people who work in the library http://www.accessola.com/data/1/rec_docs/381_ola1.pdf and information sectors and who are passionate about upholding the right to intellectual freedom in Canada.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 17 PERSPECTIVES Excerpts from the Senate Debate on Freedom of Speech In March 2010, Ann Coulter, a provocative right-wing pundit and book author from the United States, vis- ited three Canadian universities on a speaking tour. Before she arrived at the University of Ottawa, however, Coulter got a letter from François Houle, the university’s provost. Houle told Coulter that Canadian law put “reasonable limits on the freedom of expression,” advised her to be civil in her remarks and warned that she could be prosecuted if she promoted “hatred against any identifiable group.” On the evening of March 23, U. of O. students who opposed Coulter’s visit chanted “No more hate speech on our campus!” and “Get Ann Coulter off our campus!” outside Marion Hall. Some students grew noisy and rowdy. Advised by police that they could not guarantee the safety of the 1,500 people who wanted into the 450-seat hall, the event’s organizers cancelled the speech. One week later, Conservative Senator Doug Finley launched a debate in the Senate about the erosion of free speech in Canada. He wanted a debate, he said, because he was concerned about the abrogation of Coulter’s right to speak at a university campus and because he was concerned about the censorious conduct of some human rights tribunals in Canada. (See “Freedom of Expression v. Freedom from Contempt” on page 20.) The following excerpts appear in Debates of the Senate (Hansard), the official transcript of the Senate, for March 30, 2010.

Hon. Doug Finley: Honourable sena- speech? What is the point of freedom of assembly if we cannot tors, I rise to call the attention of the talk freely at such a public meeting? Senate to the erosion of freedom of Freedom of speech is a most important freedom. Indeed, if we speech in Canada. had all our other rights taken away we could still win them back There can scarcely be a more impor- with freedom of speech. tant issue than this one. Freedom of Benjamin Franklin once said: “Without Freedom of thought, speech is, and always has been, the there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such thing as bedrock of our Canadian democ- public Liberty, without Freedom of speech.” racy. The great Alan Borovoy, Freedom of speech is embedded in Parliament’s DNA. The who was the head of the word “Parliament” itself comes from the French word “parler,” to Canadian Civil Liberties speak. As parliamentarians we guard our freedom jealously. No Association for more than member of the House of Commons or the Senate may be sued 40 years, calls freedom for anything that is said in Parliament. Our freedom of speech of speech a “strategic is absolute. freedom” because it Hon. Michael Duffy: I approach the subject from the perspec- is a freedom upon tive of someone who, as a journalist for more than 40 years, has which all other used freedom of speech every day of his life and as someone freedoms are built. who has observed its essential role in keeping our democracy For example, how healthy. could we exercise My first observation is that freedom of speech is much bigger our democratic right than politics. It is about our right as free men and women to to hold elections express ourselves in any way we choose, not just politically but without free speech? socially, musically, artistically and through every other human How could we have a endeavour. Our freedom of expression is inextricably linked to fair trial without free our right to think for ourselves, to choose our place in the world,

SENATOR MIKE DUFFY Photo by CTV

18 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 to talk back to the world and to even fight against the world. If you doubt that, ask any high school rock band why they do what they do. It is freedom of expression. While it is often political speech that grabs the news headlines, we should never forget that millions of Canadians put freedom of speech into action every day, from filmmakers to authors to stand-up comedians to advertis- ing agencies, to service club meetings and even to Rotary Clubs. Free speech is a thread of personal liberty that is woven into every part of Canadian society. As a journalist, I exercised my freedom of speech every day, and I was proud to offer a platform to many whose ideas were often considered contro- versial … Free speech oils the gears of democracy to keep them running smoothly, especially in SENATOR PAMELA WALLIN SENATOR DOUG FINLEY Photo provided by Senate of Canada times of great controversy. Freedom of speech not only helps the system to work but also “If we do not believe in freedom of speech invites people into the system and gives them a seat at the table of our national discus- for those we despise, then we do not sions. It turns dissidents into participants and NOAM CHOMSKY invites people to opt in, not to drop out … believe in it at all.” It is no coincidence that many of the countries with the least The first issue is free speech. Since men and women first put freedom of speech are countries with the most political violence. pen to paper, or chisel to stone, or since the first political speech Some people say that if we banned offensive or rude opinions was shouted from a corner, or since the first actor took to the in Canada, our society will be more harmonious, but experience stage, many have joined the fight for free speech. around the world shows that is just not how it works. If we stop Last century and this one, we have even asked our soldiers, people from expressing themselves verbally, even in ways we even to this day, to preserve that hard-won right to speak freely personally find distasteful, they might be tempted to express and to speak our mind. My mother always counselled me to themselves in other less peaceful ways. speak my mind, but only once my mind was informed. I try to Free speech is our national safety valve. I am impressed follow her advice. by how many grassroots Canadians have joined the ranks of That said, for better or worse, free speech is also about the democratic participatory journalism through blogs, YouTube and right to uninformed speech or to speech for those with whom social media such as Facebook and Twitter. we may most vehemently disagree. Their words may appall us, Journalism was once seen as a private club. There were enor- offend our sensibilities, or make us angry or sad. We have laws, mous barriers to entry. Ordinary people could not join in the as we must and should, to contain and punish those who spread national discussion. They were reduced to the role of spectators, hate with their words or who demean others based on their with little chance to participate beyond shaking their fists at the race, gender or sexual preference. There are libel and slander television set or maybe writing an occasional letter to the editor. constraints, as well. But now, anyone with a laptop—or a camera, for that mat- However, the critic Noam Chomsky once stated: “If we do not ter—can help make the news and have their say and, through believe in freedom of speech for those we despise, then we do the power of their ideas, reach millions of people and sometimes not believe in it at all.” even change the world. It is not just healthy for journalism; it is In more contemporary terms, others have turned their mind healthy for our democracy, and it is young people who are in the to this issue. A one-time candidate in the United States, Adlai vanguard. Stevenson, once said: “My definition of a free society is a society Hon. Pamela Wallin: The right to free speech is not the same where it is safe to be unpopular.” I think that is an important idea as the right to be heard, but their coincidence is at the core of and concept. Perhaps even more compelling was his comment: our democracy and is the essence of what democracy is truly all “The sound of tireless voices is the price we pay for the right to about: The right to say what you mean and the right to be heard. hear the music of our own opinions.” 

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 19 PERSPECTIVES ExpressionFreedom of

v. Freedom from Contempt Canada’s Top Court Agrees to Hear the Whatcott Case

By FRANKLIN CARTER eternal judgment if we do not say no to sate them for the “loss of their dignity, the sodomite desire to socialize your self-respect and hurt feelings.” n October 26, children into accepting something that 2010, the Supreme In response, Whatcott called the is clearly wrong,” warns one flyer. Court of Canada human rights tribunal a “kangaroo consented to hear Another flyer predicts: “If court,” refused to pay the fine and the case of William Saskatchewan’s sodomites have their appealed the ruling to the province’s (Bill) Whatcott. The way, your school board will be celebrat- Court of Queen’s Bench. He argued that verdict, when it is delivered in a year or ing buggery too!” the law and the ruling had violated his O Charter rights to expression and religion. two, promises to clarify whether anti-gay Four people—Brendan Wallace, Guy literature is protected as free expression Taylor, Kathy Hamre and James Komar— In 2007, however, Justice Fred Kovach or prohibited as hateful expression. filed complaints with the Saskatchewan of the Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina The case has been winding its way Human Rights Commission (SHRC). upheld the tribunal’s ruling. Section through Saskatchewan’s legal system for They said that Whatcott’s flyers violated 14(1)(b) was a justifiable infringement the better part of a decade. provincial human rights law because on Whatcott’s expression and religious In 2001 and 2002, Bill Whatcott—a they promoted hatred against gays and rights, Kovach ruled. member of the Christian Truth Activists— lesbians. Whatcott appealed Kovach’s ruling to wrote and distributed anti-gay flyers to In 2005, a tribunal of the SHRC ruled the province’s Court of Appeal. In addi- homes in Regina and Saskatoon. The in favour of the complainants. It found tion, two organizations that defend free- flyers said that children were being that Whatcott had violated section dom of expression—the Canadian Civil taught gay-friendly propaganda in public 14(1)(b) of the province’s human rights Liberties Association and the Canadian schools. code which bans the publication and Constitution Foundation—intervened The flyers feature headlines such as distribution of printed matter that in the dispute and submitted written “Sodomites in Our Public Schools” and “exposes or tends to expose to hatred, arguments in court to defend Whatcott’s “Keep Homosexuality Out of Saskatoon’s ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts expression rights. Public Schools.” They also feature pho- the dignity of any person or class of On February 25, 2010, the three tographs of nude or semi-nude men in persons on the basis of a prohibited judges of the Court of Appeal rendered public. ground” such as sexual orientation. The their decision. They ruled in favour of “Our children will pay the price in tribunal then ordered Whatcott to pay Whatcott, set aside the earlier rulings disease, death, abuse and ultimately $17,500 to the complainants to compen- and quashed the $17,500 fine.

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The court acknowledged that there would be a huge outcry about his leave the lifestyle successfully.” Whatcott’s anti-gay flyers used crude actions.” Whatcott added: “I never pay fines and offensive language, but the court For his part, Whatcott remained ada- as a result of my activism. I choose to Expression also declared that their author had a mant about his message and his right to lose my job or sit in jail. I don’t like the right to express his views about sexual express it. oppression. I don’t like that Christians morality and public policy. “As a Christian, I am my brother’s aren’t allowed to speak about these “Context is of particular importance keeper,” he said in Xtra.ca on November issues, or given parameters.” when considering complaints based on 1. “I wouldn’t mind it [homosexuality] The justices of the Supreme Court of sexual orientation and the impact on being portrayed in schools if students Canada will likely hear this dispute in freedom of expression,” wrote Justice were educated about the diseases 2011. Their final verdict will either nar- Darla Hunter in her ruling. “Most often, related to the lifestyle. And letting row or broaden the expression rights of underlying these complaints are issues students know there are people who all Canadians.  relating to matters of morality. “It is acceptable, in a democracy, for individuals to comment on the morality Christians v. Gays and Lesbians of another’s behaviour,” Hunter wrote. “For this reason there will be a rela- In recent years, Canadians have filed several complaints about anti-gay tively high degree of tolerance for the expression with human rights commissions. In some cases, the commissions language used in debates about moral have dismissed the complaints; in other cases, the commissions have referred issues, subject, of course, to limita- the complaints to human rights tribunals for mediation. Here are two of the tions. Anything that limits debate on the more noteworthy cases. morality of behaviour is an intrusion on Boissoin v. Lund the right to freedom of expression.” In 2002, Stephen Boissoin—a Christian youth pastor—sent an anti-gay letter In April 2010, the SHRC appealed to the Red Deer Advocate in Alberta. The letter attacked gay-friendly policies the decision to the Supreme Court of in schools. Darren Lund, a teacher, complained to the Alberta Human Rights Canada. In October, when the Supreme and Citizenship Commission (AHRCC). Court of Canada consented to hear the In 2007, a panel of the AHRCC ruled that the letter was likely to expose gays dispute, Judge David Arnot—the chief and lesbians to hatred or contempt. In 2008, the panel ordered Boissoin to pay commissioner of the SHRC—said that he a $5,000 fine and to stop disparaging gays and lesbians. was pleased. Citing freedom of expression and religion, Boissoin appealed the ruling to “This case is about the power of words Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench. In 2009, the court overturned the ruling. to maim,” Arnot said. “In this appeal, we The panel had committed numerous legal errors and had violated Boissoin’s will be asking the court for guidance on rights, the judge ruled. where the line should be drawn between Lund appealed this decision to Alberta’s Court of Appeal. The appeal has extreme speech and the right of citizens yet to be heard. to express their beliefs freely.” Wallace, Taylor, Hamre and Komar Owens v. Hellquist, Roy and Dodds were also pleased that Canada’s highest In 1997, Hugh Owens—a Christian in Saskatchewan—bought ad space in two court would hear their complaints. provincial daily newspapers. His ads quoted four anti-gay verses in the Bible. “I’d like to have a decision made about One ad—published in Saskatoon’s StarPhoenix—displayed two stick men what can be said about gay people and inside a circular “banned” symbol. what can be delivered to my door,” Three men—Gens Hellquist, Jason Roy and Jeff Dodds—complained to the Wallace said in Xtra.ca, Canada’s news SHRC. They said the ads exposed gays and lesbians to hatred or ridicule. In journal for gays and lesbians, on April 2001, a board of inquiry of the SHRC ruled in the complainants’ favour and 19. “I have the right to protect myself ordered Owens and The StarPhoenix to pay fines. and my family against what is being Citing freedom of expression and religion, Owens appealed the ruling to the delivered to my door. If Whatcott’s fly- province’s Court of Queen’s Bench and then to the Court of Appeal. In 2006, ers [had] made similar comments about the Court of Appeal cleared Owens of any wrongdoing in the case. people of colour or aboriginal people,

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 21 PERSPECTIVES

Censorship’s Coercive History:

How Libel, Legislation and Lockdowns Have Kept the Lid on Canadian Socialists and Trade Unionists

Winnipeg General Strike, 1919. Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg Strike 25 (N12313) By BRYAN D. PALMER organizing general strikes, advocating ing, often threatening, things. They can n Canada in 1920, it was illegal the creation of One Big Union and look- change the world. But there are always to sell or own a copy of Karl ing to the recent revolution in Russia as people who fear change and understand Marx’s Das Kapital if it had a model of how society might be orga- that it is not in their interests. They been published by the firm of nized. In Canada, powerful figures saw want things to stay the way they are. In Charles H. Kerr in Chicago. But Charles H. Kerr’s publications as a threat Canadian history, they have used libel theI same book, published by New York’s to public order; the federal government law, legislation and lockdowns to censor Appleton and Company, was subject to passed an order-in-council that outlawed socialists and trade unionists. no legal restrictions in Canada. Why? all of the firm’s books. But the censors How free have workers been to orga- The answer lies in the complicated apparently did not stop to consider nize associations of self-interest? Have history of Canadian censorship. Charles that the same words that were banned they been as free to organize as manu- H. Kerr printed and distributed “work- because they appeared in Charles H. facturers’ associations and employers’ ers literature” which often advocated Kerr’s publications could be read in groups? Have criticisms of inequality, radical, even revolutionary, social trans- other editions. fundamental to socialist thought, ever formation. At the time, workers were Words and ideas are indeed challeng- circulated as widely and as openly as

22 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 other, more commonplace ways of think- demanded economic, social and political banned, and those who wrote for it, such ing in capitalist society? And in moments reforms. as the Socialist Party of Canada’s Wilfred of conflict and crisis, when provocative Later, in 1919, leaders of the Winnipeg Gribble, were subject to arrest. “In ideas have appealed to some Canadians General Strike such as J.S. Woodsworth Manitoba, for the first time in the history but elicited fear and loathing among and Fred Dixon would face, among other of the Labor Movement in any part of the others, what has happened? charges, allegations that they were British Empire, as far as I know, [mate- One way to approach such questions guilty of conduct constituting “sedi- rial of this kind] has been dragged in as is to look at the history of how dissi- tious libel.” Woodsworth, formerly a evidence of seditious conspiracy,” com- dent thought has been suppressed and Methodist minister of Winnipeg’s Grace plained one working-class reader hauled censored. Historically, there have been Church, took up editorship of the special before the courts in 1919. two main ways that the freedom of criti- “Strike Bulletin”of the Western Labor A radical culture had, in effect, been cal expression has been quashed. First, News after other leaders of the General outlawed. To swim against this repres- libel actions have been launched in the Strike were arrested. The alleged “sedi- sive tide was dangerous indeed. Arrests courts to “chill” and silence the critics of tious libels” he published included and deportations without trial were not powerful authorities. Second, state leg- passages quoting the Bible. Dixon, who the worst of it. An irrational hatred of islation—particularly in times of social published other strike-related sheets the dreaded Bolshevik emerged. Icons upheaval and war—has “banned” the after Woodsworth’s arrest, was indicted of Canadian letters such as Stephen sale and possession of certain “criminal- for an article entitled “Kaiserism in Leacock declared, “If the Bolshevik ized” texts judged to be seditious. Canada.” Early Canadian society valued loy- The years leading up to and immedi- alty—to the British Empire at a distance ately following World War I were more Words and ideas are and to the governing elite close at hand. tension-ridden. Radical workers, anti- Oligarchy bred abuses of power, and the war pacifists, foreign-language news- indeed challenging, many were left at the mercy of the few. papers, “dangerous” immigrants and, Critics who called themselves reformers of course, socialists were perceived as often threatening, demanded more democracy. major threats to a Canadian way of life. things. They can In an age of primitive communications, They faced unprecedented repression. the mail was secondary only to locally The appointment of a chief censor, change the world. circulating newspapers as a means of Ernest J. Chambers, in 1915 led to the disseminating ideas. Opponents of banning of more than 253 publications the concentrated power of the local printed and distributed in Canada. The begins to ‘bolsh’ in the open streets as “compacts” who ruled Old Ontario in publications appeared in the languages he did at Petrograd, shoot him.” Ginger the years 1800–40 used the mail and of the enemy powers, which included Goodwin, a socialist trade unionist newspapers to communicate political German, Polish, Ukrainian and the and war resister, was gunned down on criticism. Their numbers included one minority languages of the Austrian Vancouver Island. of the leaders of the Upper Canada Empire. The anti-communist crusade per- Rebellion in 1836–37, William Lyon Attacks on left-wing groups associated sisted into the 1930s. Section 98 of Mackenzie. He and other reformers with the increasingly militant socialist the Criminal Code, which owed its pas- had their mail opened, scrutinized and and labour movements were stepped up. sage to the Winnipeg General Strike, diverted. They faced a series of libel Armed in 1918 with orders-in-council and made it illegal to “teach, advocate, cases, some of which effectively ended the expansive powers of an extended advise, or defend” political change by the lives of newspapers. They were also War Measures Act (1914), the Canadian violence. Organizations that ostensibly ostracized, their property and persons state outlawed a long list of revolu- did so were declared unlawful and their physically assailed. tionary organizations including the publications were subject to seizure. Fifty years later, a short-lived but Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Quebec’s 1937 Padlock Law allowed the influential newspaper called the Toronto and the Social Democratic Party of province’s attorney general to chain the News failed in 1887 because of the Canada (SDPC). Literature was declared doors shut of any house, office or build- costs of a libel action. The newspaper illegal. The Socialist Party of Canada’s ing that was the site of the publishing, had been loosely associated with the newspaper, Red Flag, was refused printing or distributing of “any news- Knights of Labor, the leading organiza- access to the mail by a vigilant post paper, periodical, pamphlet, circular, tion of working-class mobilization which office censor. The Western Clarion was HISTORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 23 PERSPECTIVES

Demonstrators protest the trials of leaders of the Winnipeg General Strike. Library and Archives Canada /C-037329

HISTORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 Vallières, a key spokesman for the Front stifle freedom of expression and curtail document or writing propagating com- de libération du Quèbec (FLQ), wrote a useful public debate. munism or bolshevism.” book entitled White Niggers of America In 2008, however, Quebec passed a Wartime provisions in 1940 strength- while incarcerated in New York City. progressive anti-SLAPP law. It allows ened censorship’s hand. The Communist During the October Crisis of 1970, when judges to throw out of court libel suits party was banned. “Red squads” the federal government responded to considered to have as their main pur- arrested its leaders, many of whom were FLQ violence by reviving and imposing pose the silencing of protest. trade unionists, and confiscated books the War Measures Act, Vallières was In an age when freedom of expression and documents. Ukrainian Labor-Farmer accused of promoting sedition and the is both highly valued and extremely dif- Temple Association halls were raided book was confiscated. An edition pub- ficult to curtail, state censorship through across northern Ontario and the prai- lished in France was not allowed into legislation, the banning of organizations ries, and their cherished libraries were Canada; radio, television and newsprint and publications, and the unambiguous seized. A Trotskyist organization, the media were prohibited from broadcast- coercions of the past are increasingly Socialist Workers League, was declared ing or publishing FLQ communiqués. less likely. Still, the freedom to read is illegal by the federal government during Today, when the labour movement’s a fundamental test of any democratic World War II. No printer would produce leadership too often seems unwilling to society. In Canada, that freedom has its newspaper or leaflets. fight for old principles and censorship of been tested time and time again. And In the 1950s, communism was largely the declining left is increasingly unnec- such testing will undoubtedly continue, defeated in Cold War Canada. But trade essary, libel suits are used to silence in new and complicated ways. Vigilance unions seemed to have secured both a critics. Large multinational corporations, in defence of the right to read, think and degree of respectability and a measure charged by opponents with illegally pol- criticize remains an obligation of all who of security. Collective bargaining rights, luting the environment and other unsa- value the freedom to dissent from what pivotal in a century of labour-capital con- voury acts, often opt to silence those is so that what can be has a chance to flicts, had been secured through legal who speak out against them by filing emerge.  victories in the 1940s. Dissident thought, expensive lawsuits. Known as strategic Bryan D. Palmer holds the Canada however, continued to be suppressed. lawsuits against public participation, or Research Chair in Canadian Studies at In Canada, the surge of revolution- SLAPPs, these libel suits have little to do Trent University. He has written exten- ary nationalism in Quebec throughout with defending corporate reputations. sively on working-class history and the the 1960s revived censorship. Pierre They are a cynical use of the courts to history of the left.

24 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 The Fate of Canadian Independent Bookstores By JOSH BLOCH Last summer, This Ain’t the Rosedale Library—a fixture in downtown Toronto—became the latest casualty among independent bookstores in Canada. Unable to compete against big box stores and Web sites such as Amazon.ca that provide deep discounts by moving high volumes of books, owner Charlie Huskin threw in the towel and closed. This unfortunate trend is taking place across the country. In January 2010, Duthie Books in Vancouver announced its decision to close, and in 2008 the Book Room in Halifax—Canada’s oldest bookstore—shut down after 169 years in operation. But what exactly do we lose when these small community bookstores close down? We’ve asked four lovers of independent bookstores to explain.

The independent bookstore is a matchmaker of sorts, finding a will always have a harder go of it partly because we don’t want perfect fit, that rare flawless reading experience, for a shopper them to compromise. who is looking for something that falls outside the mainstream. How the indies compete for our attention is a whole other Without them, we’d all be reading and discussing the same set beast, and it’s the partial responsibility of the reader-consumer of books, sharing the same set of values, regurgitating the same to take a closer look at what the exchange is. Is it simply cash set of ideas. Independent booksellers help us find our individual- for book? Or cash for cultural cache, the knowledge that our ity—our voice—and connect us to an otherwise hidden world of indie booksellers know us by face, name and reading habits, not words to help us feel less alone. unlike the readers’ advisory of a public library? Part of what we It may seem overly romantic, but I truly believe that without pay for is intimacy and a willingness to enter into a long-term the independent bookseller, the voice of the mainstream would relationship with a friend who just happens to rely upon us to get be the only one we ever hear. paid. We often forget that in independent culture the consumer STACEY FOWLES is a novelist, journalist and editor who has is in direct partnership with the person providing the service contributed to numerous online and print periodicals. who has more working knowledge of books and the publishing industry than most. Independent booksellers are a part of the literary ecosystem JULIE WILSON is the literary voyeur behind in the same way that publishers and authors are. Independent SeenReading.com, the founder of Book Madam & Associates booksellers have a commitment to shuffling through the pub- (BookMadam.com) and the author of Truly, Madly, Deadly: lished piles and stocking their shelves with the best, the weird- The Unofficial True Blood Companion. est, the most fun, the saddest, (insert adjective) books available. Independent booksellers are more than just salespersons. Independents are more than book repositories; they are cul- They’re experts. They’re skilled tradespeople who can look at tural hubs that encourage book discussion. As author Michael the face of a lonely teenager and know that today, of all days, he V. Smith wrote: “Independent bookstores are creating communi- needs to read Dharma Bums. ties—not just literary communities but intellectual communities, a locus for independent thought.” By hosting readings, lectures NIC BOSHART is the digital services co-ordinator and book clubs, they bring authors and readers together to at the Association of Canadian Publishers and the explore, debate, critique and champion interesting, often uncon- co-ordinating editor of Invisible Publishing. ventional, books. Not too long ago, I was at a dinner party with people from all If we lose our independents—a real threat given that online areas of publishing, media and retail, holding court at the centre booksellers and chain stores such as Walmart and Costco can of a debate about how and why one bookstore should succeed afford to offer books at extreme discounts that independent over another. My argument was that independent bookstores bookstores cannot—we lose a critical channel for the com- suffer because they sell books whereas larger retailers sell a mercially risky books (e.g., literary debuts; local interest titles; books-inclusive experience. The distinction is that indies, more works of poetry, philosophy or politics) that stand to have the often than not, rely on actual books as product to make their most profound and lasting impact on a reader. sales whereas the large retailers include books as part of a EMILY SINKINS is the communications manager at the grander shopping experience that includes candles, journals, Canadian Booksellers Association and the editor toys, DVDs, picture frames etc. My conclusion was that indies of Canadianbookseller Magazine. 

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 25 PERSPECTIVES ANDREA BEAR NICHOLAS BEAR ANDREA

Andrea Bear Nicholas in Conversation with JOSH BLOCH Canada’s Languages f literacy lies at the heart of the freedom way to save indigenous languages in Canada is to to read, then the loss of indigenous lan- create immersion programs for indigenous students guages in Canada may be one of the biggest so that they can learn in their mother tongues. obstacles preventing native communities Nicholas is at the forefront of the national struggle from enjoying this right. According to data for indigenous language rights. She developed the Ifrom the census in 2006, more than 60 indigenous first university-based native language immersion languages are spoken in Canada. However, linguists teacher training program in Canada. predict that only three will survive in the long term. In August 2010, Josh Bloch spoke with Nicholas According to Professor Andrea Bear Nicholas, a about why indigenous languages in Canada are Maliseet from Tobique, New Brunswick, and chair on the brink of extinction and what can be done to of native studies at St. Thomas University, the only save them.

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J.B. Are First Nations languages in Canada going to survive? ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES A.B.N. In general, the prognosis for First Nations languages in Canada is IN CANADA shocking. Out of 60-some languages, CANADA HAS 11 ABORIGINAL LANGUAGE GROUPS WHICH CONSIST OF 65 it is projected that there will be only LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS. THE DATA BELOW SHOW THE NUMBER OF three languages left by the end of this century: Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway. The SPEAKERS OF SOME OF THESE LANGUAGES IN CANADA. next few decades are really critical, and for some languages such as my own, the Aboriginal Number of Mother Home Maliseet language of New Brunswick, if Language Speakers Tongue Language we don’t do something very different in the next 10 years, they will be virtually Cree 99,950 78,855 47,190 gone. We have no child speakers which Inuktitut 35,690 32,010 25,290 is one of the worst indicators of a lan- guage in trouble. In fact, we really don’t Ojibwe 32,460 11,115 11,115 have any fluent speakers under the age of 55 or 60. Siouan languages (Dakota/Sioux) 6,495 5,585 3,780 J.B. Why are these languages on the verge of extinction? Atikamekw 5,645 5,245 4,745 A.B.N. Let’s be frank. Language is con- Blackfoot 4,915 3,085 3,085 nected to land, to living on and from the land. If you can destroy a people’s Shuswap 1,650 250 250 language, it is much easier to separate Nisga’a 1,090 250 250 them from their land and assimilate them. Tlingit 175 0 0 Assimilation through residential Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation schooling was the Canadian govern- Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship (Ottawa, 2007), pp. 2, 6, 10. ment’s official policy for the longest time. And the chief means of achieving After generations of being subjected had been doing on the history of First assimilation in these schools was to to this form of schooling, First Nations Nations peoples in the Maritimes. Early eradicate the indigenous languages of parents come to see their own language on in my job, however, I realized that if the children. Some children actually as a handicap. As a result, they tend to our languages disappear then so will our had needles put into their tongues for use their language less and less with histories, along with the whole body of speaking their language. It was a grossly their children. Indeed, it is quite com- knowledge embedded in our languages. violent way of destroying languages and mon for parents who are fluent speak- And if our languages disappear, then imposing another language on a people. ers not to speak [their native language] First Nations people in the future will be While assimilation may no longer be to their children at all. In the end, it is denied not only the freedom of express- the official policy of the Canadian gov- easy to blame the parents, but in fact ing themselves to the fullest, but also ernment, it is still the practice, albeit the intense indoctrination, shame and access to the unique body of knowledge a more subtle one. Assimilation is still punishment to which they have been which their languages contain. achieved by forcing First Nations chil- subjected are to blame. Unfortunately, the stigmatization dren to attend English- or French-only of First Nations languages that has J.B. How is the survival of indigenous schools where the children are deprived occurred in English- or French-medium languages in Canada linked to freedom of the opportunity to be exposed to schools in Canada has prevented speak- of expression and freedom to read? fluent speakers of their own language ers of indigenous languages not only during most of the day. And it is forced, A.B.N. I was hired in my current position from becoming proficient speakers of since there are no alternatives and since as chair in native studies at St. Thomas their own languages, but also from it is against the law not to attend school. University primarily for the work that I LANGUAGE CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 27 PERSPECTIVES

LANGUAGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 suicide and incarceration among indig- did not support them. I tried to get some learning to write in their languages. enous peoples around the world. Indian Affairs funding for immersion Without the ability to express them- It has been said that the only languag- teacher training in my own community selves in writing, the speakers are less es in the world that will have a chance and Indian Affairs completely refused. likely to put their knowledge into print to survive are those that are used as What is the government doing instead? where others could have access to it. In the medium of instruction in school. At It is pushing more intensive English pro- effect, their voices are silenced before the very least, the use of indigenous grams in our schools both on reserves the point of production. And without the languages as a medium of instruction and in public schools. As far as I am con- production of written materials in indig- in school will allow those languages to cerned, these are precisely the programs enous languages, the freedom to read in continue growing and adapting—some- that are harming our education and one’s own mother tongue is denied. thing which is essential to the survival of destroying our languages. all living languages. In addition, research is demonstrating J.B. Are you optimistic about the future Finally, MTM education promotes that oral and written proficiency in one’s of indigenous languages in Canada? linguistic diversity which in itself has mother tongue generally enhances one’s A.B.N. I see this as a story of hope. enormous value in the world. Space ability to become fluent and literate in Since other indigenous peoples in the does not allow an effective analysis of a second and even third language. This world have been able to revitalize their this issue here, but [MTM education] phenomenon explains not only the lower languages through MTM education, I requires, first, an appreciation for the average proficiency of First Nations know that it is possible here in Canada. role of linguistic diversity in maintaining youth in writing English or French, but I see two main strategies as vital to this both world peace and diverse forms of also the extraordinarily high dropout effort. One is to convince First Nations human knowledge essential for survival rate (or more accurately “push-out” rate) parents, educators, politicians and on this planet. of approximately 50 per cent of First national indigenous organizations that Nations youth. When freedom of expres- J.B. What would an immersion program immersion not only will not harm their sion is so severely curtailed in most for indigenous communities in Canada children and will provide many benefits, First Nations, even in English or French, look like? but also is very likely our only means the freedom to read for all Canadians is A.B.N. It could be that entire schools are for linguistic and cultural survival. The diminished. conducted in the mother tongue of the other strategy is the economic one—to community, or it could simply be one convince First Nations leaders and pro- J.B. Why are you an advocate for mother- class or stream conducted entirely in the vincial and federal governments that tongue medium (MTM) education? language. Both forms exist in Canada. positive laws protecting and supporting A.B.N. The benefits of MTM education The Mohawks started their immersion MTM education for First Nations children extend not only to enhancing the free- program over 20 years ago as a single would be not only the right and lawful dom of expression and the freedom to stream in an English-language school. thing to do, but also a way for govern- read for all. The resulting benefits of By developing the curriculum one ments to save money in the long run by such an education have been found to grade at a time, the community soon increasing school completion rates and be enormous in places such as Norway, developed an entire immersion school thus improving the economic and social Hawaii, Nepal and Papua New Guinea [that goes to] Grade 6. Indeed, immer- prospects of First Nations communities. where immersion programs are provided sion schooling is now offered in several If we can engage in these two strate- for indigenous peoples. In fact, children Mohawk communities. One even goes gies and foster the development of MTM who have had the good luck to be edu- all the way to Grade 12. Overall, the pro- schools in First Nations across Canada, cated in the medium of their mother grams in these communities are doing I am hopeful that we may not only save tongue, even if they did not know it remarkably well, both linguistically and our languages and have speakers 50 before they went to school, performed educationally; in fact, they have engen- years from now, but also see social, as well as—and usually better than— dered a significant revitalization of the cultural and economic benefits in our their peers who had been educated language in all age groups. communities. The difficulty is that some only in the medium of the dominant lan- J.B. Is there support from the Canadian languages—such as mine—have barely guage. When we consider that language government for these programs? a decade in which to get a solid MTM is the bearer of culture, the element A.B.N. One former minister of Indian program since all of our fluent speakers that nourishes and sustains indigenous Affairs said to me that when he was are over 55 or 60. For us it is not only communities, we understand that the minister, he was ordered not to visit the an issue of freedom of expression or destruction of language is at the root schools that had immersion programs, freedom to read, but also a matter of of the high rates of poverty, addiction, presumably because the government survival. 

28 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 ftr 2011 Award-Winning Activists and Writers of 2010 Five Foreign Journalists and the Citizen Lab On November 25, 2010, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) presented its International Press Freedom Awards at a gala in Toronto. Five foreign journalists won recognition for their fearless and tenacious reporting in dangerous places. Luis Horacio Nájera is a Mexican jour- nalist who wrote for La Reforma media group in Ciudad Juarez and other hot spots along the U.S.-Mexican border. He investigated government corruption and the trafficking of drugs, people and weapons. Fears for his life and his fam- ily’s safety forced him to seek asylum in SAYED PARWEZ KAMBAKHSH LAWRENCE HILL Photo provided Canada. Photo provided by PEN Canada by HarperCollins Publishers Canada Emilio Gutiérrez Soto is also a Mexican that the truth will not be silenced.” International Festival of Authors in reporter who worked for the Ascension CJFE also presented its Vox Libera Toronto. Because Kambakhsh could bureau of El Diario, a newspaper based Award to the Citizen Lab in Toronto. not safely attend the event, Marian in Ciudad Juarez. After writing stories The lab’s computer analysts recently Botsford Fraser—chair of the Writers in that angered the Mexican military, he exposed an Internet spy network and Prison Committee of PEN International— and his son fled to the United States. devised software to frustrate Internet accepted the award on his behalf. Gutiérrez spent seven months in a U.S. censorship in foreign dictatorships. Kambakhsh is a native of Afghanistan. immigration and customs detention cen- In 2007, when he was a journalism stu- tre before he was released. He is seek- Lawrence Hill dent in Balkh and a reporter for Jahan-e- ing asylum. On November 10, 2010, Alberta Theatre Naw (The New World), he was arrested Serge Sabouang and Robert Mintya Projects bestowed its Bob Edwards for distributing allegedly anti-Islamic are newspaper publishers in Cameroon. Award on Lawrence Hill at a luncheon in literature. In 2008, he was tried by an Bibi Ngota was the editor of the Calgary. Islamic court, convicted of blasphemy Cameroon Express. In February 2010, Hill is the Canadian author of The and sentenced to death. In 2009, how- they were arrested because they had Book of Negroes, the best-selling and ever, he received a presidential pardon acquired a document that allegedly internationally acclaimed novel that and was granted asylum in Europe. implicates a presidential aide in corrup- explores little-known black history in tion. They were charged with “imitating Canada and the United States. “Parwez Kambakhsh is safe, in exile, the signature of a member of govern- The Bob Edwards Award is named but I don’t think he can yet be said to be ment.” If convicted, Sabouang and after the news editor of the Calgary free as he did not feel it wise to travel Mintya each face as many as 15 years in Eye Opener from 1902 to 1922. Alberta here tonight,” said Botsford Fraser in prison. On April 22, 2010, Ngota died in Theatre Projects gives the award to liter- Toronto. “Instead, he sent me these prison. ary figures who have demonstrated an words to read to you: ‘Let me say my “The journalists we are honouring outstanding curiosity and respect for most sincere thanks to PEN Canada— have bravely put their personal safety freedom of expression. endless thanks to you, for releasing me at risk to tell stories the world needs to Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh from prison.’” hear,” said Carol Off of CJFE. “Our 2010 On October 20, 2010, PEN Canada PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award honourees have defiantly devoted them- bestowed its One Humanity Award recognizes courageous belief in the selves to freedom of expression, proving on Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh at the AWARDS CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 29 PERSPECTIVES

The BPC won recognition because of the “tireless efforts” of its Freedom of Expression Committee “in promoting intellectual freedom for all Canadians” and for “organizing the annual Freedom to Read Week,” said Shelagh Paterson, executive director of the OLA. Members of the BPC’s Freedom of Expression Committee received the award at the OLA’s Super Conference in Toronto. The award is named after Les Fowlie, a former chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library and a former chair of the BPC’s Freedom of Expression Committee. Calgary Public Library

ALAN BOROVOY Photo by Josh Chan MICHELLE LANG Photo by Chris Brolin On February 25, 2010, Ian Chiclo, the publisher of Calgary’s Fast Forward AWARDS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 posthumous recipient of the award. Weekly, presented the Calgary Freedom peaceful expression of ideas through “Michelle Lang paid the ultimate price of Expression Award to the Calgary any medium. for her craft,” said David Gollob, presi- Public Library. Gerry Meek, the direc- Kent Weaver dent of the CCWPF. “Her courage and tor of the library, received the award on On May 7, 2010, the Canadian Library sacrifice are an inspiration to all.” behalf of the library. Association (CLA) named Kent Weaver The CCWPF also named Plantu as the The library won recognition because as the recipient of its Award for the winner of its tenth annual international its staff and volunteers protect the right Advancement of Intellectual Freedom cartoon competition. Plantu is the pen of readers to choose for themselves and in Canada. Weaver is the manager of name of the cartoonist who draws for their children what they wish to read. systems operations and information Le Monde in Paris, France. He collected The award recognized everyone from the technology services at the University $1,500 in prize money. board members who set library policy to of Toronto Libraries. In 2010, the CCWPF invited cartoon- the frontline staff who serve the public. Weaver received the award for his ists to draw cartoons with this theme in “commitment to intellectual freedom for mind: “the ‘right’ not to be offended is Alan Borovoy academic librarians” and for his “unprec- not a right.” The committee selected this On February 23, 2010, the Writers’ Union edented national leadership in advocacy theme because of an attempt on the life of Canada bestowed its Freedom to for the importance of academic librar- of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard Read Award on Alan Borovoy, the former ians to the academic enterprise,” said and because of the Irish government’s general counsel of the Canadian Civil the CLA’s press release. passage of an anti-blasphemy law. Liberties Association (CCLA). The event Weaver is the first academic librarian Plantu’s winning entry (see page 42) occurred at a gala in Toronto. to receive this award. shows the hand of a cartoonist drawing “We are pleased to honour Alan Michelle Lang and Plantu the head of Mohammed. The cartoonist’s Borovoy with our 2010 Freedom to Read On May 3, 2010, the Canadian pencil, however, is shaped like a mina- Award,” said Erna Paris, chair of the Committee for World Press Freedom ret, and a scowling imam perched in the writers’ union. “For years Mr. Borovoy (CCWPF) named Michelle Lang as the minaret watches the drawing through has defended free expression in Canada, recipient of its Canadian World Press a spyglass. The words “Je ne dois pas in addition to combatting racism. Freedom Award. The CCWPF made the dessiner Mahomet” (“I must not draw Canadian writers, among other groups, announcement during its annual lun- Mohammed”) run repeatedly through have benefitted from his powerful com- cheon in Ottawa. Mohammed’s hair and beard. mitments.” Lang, a reporter for the Calgary Book and Periodical Council Borovoy served as general counsel of Herald, was killed while working in On February 26, 2010, the Ontario the CCLA from 1968 to 2009. He is also Afghanistan on December 30, 2009. Library Association (OLA) bestowed its the author of The New Anti-Liberals, an Four soldiers who were accompanying Les Fowlie Intellectual Freedom Award on important defence of free expression in her were also killed. Lang is the first the Book and Periodical Council (BPC). Canada. 

30 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Trends in Challenges to Canadian Library Resources and Policies, 2006–09

By DONNA BOWMAN, ALVIN SCHRADER Teaching assistants accounted for 32 per cent of challenges, and TONI SAMEK patrons accounted for 30 per cent, parents and guardians ac- In 2006, the Advisory Committee on Intellectual Freedom of counted for 20 per cent, and library staff accounted for 15 per the Canadian Library Association (CLA) initiated its Annual cent. Challenges Survey to gather data about the nature and outcome In 2009, library materials were retained in 41 per cent of the of challenges to library materials and policies in publicly funded challenges, relocated or reclassified in 32 per cent of cases, and libraries across Canada in each calendar year. removed in 25 per cent of cases. Challenged policies went un- A driving aim of the survey project is to increase library changed. documentation, reporting and transparency about challenges to The Advisory Committee on Intellectual Freedom is now using materials and policies. Data from the survey help to inform the the 2006–09 survey data to compare results and identify trends. committee’s policy and advocacy work. The 2009 survey is also The chart below lists the number of challenges described by Ca- available for the first time in both official languages. nadian libraries in each of the four survey years. Please note, The committee shares results with the CLA’s membership, however, that far more challenges go unreported than are report- other library workers and advocates, the Freedom of Expression ed because the survey is voluntary. These results should not be Committee of the Book and Periodical Council and the Office of interpreted as representing all challenges in Canadian libraries Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association (ALA). or as statistical trends. In 2009, a total of 139 challenges were reported. One hundred (The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom provides a bench- and thirty-seven library resources and two library policies were mark. It has found that for every library challenge reported in the challenged. Books accounted for 83 per cent of challenges, DVDs United States, at least four or five others go unreported.) and videos accounted for 10 per cent, and magazines accounted for 4 per cent. Survey Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 The most challenged author was Charlaine Harris. Her series of Challenges 10 adult novels, the Southern Vampire Mysteries, was challenged 31 45 78 139 four times (which counted as 40 challenges). Two other series of reported 29 and 15 titles were each challenged once. There were almost always multiple reasons for challenges. The Challenges in 2009 represented a significant increase over table below shows the most common ones. previous years, partly because of more challenges to large se- ries of novels in that year. Challenges to books were substantially Type of Challenge (2009) Percentage higher in 2009 than in earlier years, while challenges to DVDs and videos were lower, and challenges to sound recordings were Sexually explicit 76% about the same. The proportion of challenges reported by public libraries in Age inappropriate 68% 2009 was the lowest of the four years and appears to mark a trend downward. Challenges reported by school libraries in 2009 Offensive language 34% were the highest of the four years. Violence 32% Of particular note was a new phenomenon: teaching assistants initiated one third of all challenges in 2009. Patron challenges Nudity 28% were lower than in 2008 but about the same as in 2007. Parents and guardians initiated challenges in the same proportion as Sex education 5% in 2008, while library staff members were responsible for more Racism 4% challenges in 2009 than in 2008. And Tango Makes Three—a children’s picture book by Justin Inaccuracy 4% Richardson and Peter Parnell—was the only item challenged in all four survey years. Other reasons 1–2% The proportion of challenges to sexually explicit materials was much higher in 2009, a marked trend upward. The same was Public libraries reported 64 per cent of all challenges, school true for age-inappropriate materials. The number of challenges libraries reported 34 per cent, and academic libraries reported in 2009 on the basis of offensive language was also higher than 2 per cent. RESOURCES CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 31 PERSPECTIVES

PEN Canada Because Writers Speak Their Minds

n July 1960, David Carver, My friend, the general secretary I have never met you in person, but I of International PEN, know you very well as I have been read- formed a committee ing your books for years. You have been to monitor countries a source of inspiration for many. You “where writers had been have been lighting candles of hope in imprisoned because they the darkest alleys of our lives. spoke or wrote their I feel inspired by you because you have minds.” The Cold War’s long shadow is – faith in your ideals evidentI in the initial list which contained – the courage to challenge dictators seven writers from Albania, 25 from and Czechoslovakia, 13 in Hungary, two in – a willingness to offer sacrifices. France and nine in Romania. You know your pen is mightier than The Writers in Prison Committee a sword and your words are stronger followed each of these cases and sup- than bullets. You are in touch with your ported the prisoners by writing to them truth and you can express it, share it, directly or to their friends, family and KHALID SOHAIL Photo by Shahid Shafiq celebrate it. You know your truth not colleagues. As the years passed, the list The following letter, written by Dr. only liberates you but also frees your grew to include hundreds of authors, Khalid Sohail, a psychiatrist whose poet- readers. journalists, editors and publishers from ry and fiction have been published in Your words have supported and all over the world. English, Urdu and Punjabi, is addressed inspired all innocent men and women, The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to an imaginary writer imprisoned for young and old, ordinary and extraor- raised hopes of a new era in which free exercising his right to free expression. dinary, who are caught in the crossfire expression might come to be considered between religious fundamentalism and sacrosanct, especially within countries Dear Prisoner of Conscience: Western imperialism. that had felt its lack most. But the end of Let me start my letter with a short Throughout your life, you have fought the Cold War did little to end censorship poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a Pakistani for the human rights of women, children or repression. poet and Marxist who was imprisoned and minorities. Twenty years later, the right to free- for his ideas and ideals. You are aware that human dignity is dom of expression remains as fragile CAPTIVITY sacred. and imperilled around the world as it You are conscious that writers have What does it matter was 50 years ago. The fates of Anna the right to write. If pen and paper Politkovskaya, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ken You are determined to belong to the Have been snatched Saro-Wiwa and Liu Xiaobo—to name creative minority of poets and philoso- From my hands? only a famous few who have been phers, artists and painters, reformers threatened, imprisoned or killed for I have and revolutionaries who fight for peace their writing—are a stark reminder of Dipped and harmony, democracy and social how hard it can be to speak the truth to My fingers in the blood justice. power. Of my heart You belong to the group of writers As part of PEN International’s What does it matter that includes Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Habib celebration of the Writers in Prison If Jalib, Naguib Mahfouz and Mahmoud Committee’s fiftieth anniversary, PEN My lips Darwish who sacrificed the comfort of Canada invited members of its Writers Have been sealed? family life and friendships, freedoms in Exile Network to compose a letter to I have put and futures, for their ideals. Some faced an imprisoned colleague. The text of A tongue house arrest, others exile; some were these letters, and audio recordings of In every link imprisoned, others persecuted. All those the authors reading them, will be Of my chain kings and dictators and army generals posted at www.pencanada.ca. (Translated by Daud Kamal) who persecuted them are forgotten,

32 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 but these writers are still respected and In the trackless jungle The present is a burnt out wilderness: revered as they are the leaders who Of oppression. We have to live—but not like this. raise social consciousness and take Let us try to endure it The diabolic, cold-blooded tyranny humanity to the next stage of human A little longer Of our persecution evolution. This wolf-torment You have to bear it—but not like this. I salute you, my creative friend, from This cobra-grief Your beauty veiled by the dust the depths of my heart. We know that suffering Of so many injustices Let me end with another poem from Is our ancestral heritage And the countless frustrations Faiz. He believed, like many of us, that And we also know Of my brief-lived youth the dark night of oppression and suf- That we are helpless Moonlit nights— fering ends and the morning of love Captive bodies, chained emotions Brittle mirrors of ice— and harmony, peace and justice, fol- Shackled minds and strangled speech. Sterility of desire— lows inexorably. We need to be patient And yet—in spite of all this Withering aerial roots— and support each other by lighting the We go on living. Ash-covered contours of the heart. candles of hope. Life is like a tattered garment The body on the torturer’s rack Of a beggar A few days more

A FEW DAYS MORE On which, every day, a new patch My love A few days more Of pain is stitched Only a few days. My love … But this epoch of barbaric cruelty (Translated by Daud Kamal)  Only a few days. Is coming to an end. Khalid Sohail is a psychiatrist, an author We are constrained to breathe Be patient a little longer— and a member of PEN Canada. He lives This miasmic air Our salvation is at hand. in Whitby, Ontario.

RESOURCES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 in 2008, but about the same as in 2007. Challenges for violence were higher than in 2008 but similar to 2006. Challenges for nudity were higher than in previ- ous years. There appears to be a down- ward trend over the four years in the number of materials re- tained. There also appears to be an upward trend both in the reclassification and relocation of materials from one area of the collection to another (e.g., from young adult to adult) and in the Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell removal of materials from collec- (Ace Books, 2001) (Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2005) tions. There was a higher level of adult novels challenged in 2009, an upward trend. The same was in the protection of intellectual freedom and have to be prepared true for young-adult graphic novels. Non-fiction challenges were to support the right of Canadians to read what they choose. about the same over the four years, as were challenges to picture Freedom to read can never be taken for granted.” books and young-adult novels. For more information about the Annual Challenges Survey, Findings of the survey project to date demonstrate that chal- contact the CLA’s Advisory Committee on Intellectual Freedom at lenges continue to occur in publicly funded Canadian libraries, so www.cla.ca.  attending to intellectual freedom remains central to the work of Donna Bowman, Alvin Schrader and Toni Samek are colleagues Canadian librarians and sister associations. on the Canadian Library Association’s Advisory Committee on CLA President Keith Walker notes: “Libraries play a crucial role Intellectual Freedom.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 33 PERSPECTIVES Black Day for Free Expression in Canada

“found the passes (vetted by RCMP and police) as useless as I did.” Ward says she got a “flurry of replies, saying yes.” Many commented on the aggressive attitudes of police. CTV journalist Lisa LaFlamme, reporting on air outside the Queen and Spadina cordon, said that police were “very heavy-handed.” Freelance journalist Lisa Walters described police as “extremely aggressive and threatening” and also said that “sexist and homophobic slurs and casual threats of physical violence by officers were frequent and unprovoked.” Michael Talbot from CityNews, who was arrested and taken to the detention centre, described a police officer who “jabbed his finger into my chest Kettling is a police tactic for the management of large crowds during demonstrations. It involves the formation of large and said, ‘You know why I’m out here in the rain right now? cordons of police officers who move to contain a crowd within Because of you.’” a limited area. Protesters are prevented from leaving the Others reported physical abuse by police which resulted in area for several hours; detainees can be denied access to injuries. One photojournalist said he was hit by a baton, leaving food, water and toilet facilities for a long period. WIKIPEDIA him with three fractures to a bone in his hand. Another journalist stated that he was punched twice in the face by a police officer. Photo by Vincenzo D’Alto And TVO journalist Steve Paikin’s Twitter reports alerted readers By JULIE PAYNE to the police assault of journalist Jesse Rosenfeld: anadian authorities set up free speech “two officers held him ... zones and massive security fences for the “a third punched him in the stomach. totally unnecessary. the G20 Toronto Summit on June 26–27, 2010. man collapsed. then the third officer drove his elbow into the While the security fences held up, free speech man’s back. fared badly. “no cameras recorded the assault. and it was an assault. the Immediately afterward, Canadian Journalists officer who escorted me away from the demo said, ‘yeah, that Cfor Free Expression (CJFE) published a survey to record how the shouldn’t have happened.’ he is correct. there was no cause for rights of journalists were compromised. CJFE heard from approxi- it.” mately 30 journalists who felt that their rights had been violated In a city that had never before seen the use of pepper spray and two journalists who had experienced no problems whatso- during a demonstration, journalists and protestors suddenly ever. The overall picture that has developed from the many emo- experienced a level of intimidation and violence that was alien tional, confused and angry testimonies is one of a very black day and shocking. More than 1,100 people were arrested over the indeed for free expression in Canada. weekend—the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. How is The journalists CJFE spoke with talked of being beaten by it that our rights to free expression and association, rights that police officers, subjected to random searches, forced to identify most Canadians blithely take for granted, were abrogated so themselves, denied access to pass behind the security fence easily? How did this happen? Did the actions of police result despite having official press accreditation, “kettled” at Queen from confusion and miscommunication among different police and Spadina streets and detained for hours at the Eastern forces and security agents? Or were they the result of orders Avenue Detention Centre. These reports came from freelancers, from above? And if so, from whom? journalists with the alternative media, journalists with govern- CJFE will continue to hear well into the future the results of ment-administered accreditation, journalists from the main- class action lawsuits and reviews by Ontario’s Office of the stream media, seasoned journalists and new journalists alike. Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and the Ontario For journalists who had gone through the lengthy and rigorous ombudsman, among others. However, at the time of writing, process to obtain official G20 media accreditation, many found there are no plans for a comprehensive inquiry that can put that accreditation not only did not help them but also hindered together all of the pieces and look at all of the actors involved. them as police appeared to be actively blocking journalists from Without such an inquiry, Canadians may never understand how covering incidents. Bystanders might be allowed to stay, but their rights suddenly became so expendable one weekend. And journalists who were filming or reporting what was happening without that understanding, what will prevent this from happen- were forced to leave. In one case, G20-accredited journalist ing again?  Olivia Ward from the Toronto Star was prevented from entering a Julie Payne is the manager of Canadian Journalists for Free press conference by the RCMP. She asked her colleagues if they Expression in Toronto.

34º | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Religious Chill By RON BROWN

kay, now. What do Mark Twain, George Carlin, Salman Rushdie, Pope Benedict and Jesus all have in common? Well, according to a law passed in Ireland on January 1, 2010, they would all be criminals. They would be guilty of blas- phemyO and could be punished with a £25,000 fine, according to an online community called Atheist Ireland. And it may surprise you to learn that similar blasphemy laws remain on the books in Canada. It’s just the latest example of something called “religious chill.” We have all heard of “libel chill” where criticizing someone could invite a libel action. With “court chill,” the publishing of certain court proceedings could invite a contempt charge. And here we have “religious chill” where the grossly insulting criti- cism of someone’s religion can be illegal, and thereby discourage works of religious criticism. Religious chill, of course, is nothing new. The medieval burn- ings of heretics, the Spanish Inquisition and the Roman persecu- tions of early Christians are all extreme examples of what saying the wrong thing about religions can do. ROHINTON MISTRY Photo by F. Mistry But what did Mark Twain say that could upset the Irish law- makers? He called God’s actions in the Bible “bloodthirsty.” Since 1892, Canada’s Criminal Code George Carlin observed that God can’t handle money: “Religion takes in billions of dollars … and they always need a little more.” has prohibited blasphemous libel, (A situation Carlin simply described as “Holy shit.”) Pope Benedict, delivering a lecture in Regensburg and quoting and anyone who publishes one may a fourteenth-century Byzantine emperor, said Islam was “evil go to prison for up to two years. and inhuman.” Jesus, in the book of John, blasphemes the Jewish religion by accusing his Jewish listeners of being “of your father school curriculum any children’s book remotely critical of Israel the devil … [who] was a murderer from the beginning, and has will bring a reaction from organizations such as the Canadian nothing to do with the truth …” Jewish Congress faster than the stroke of a censor’s pen. So, in Ireland, all of these “blasphemers” would have ended In India in September 2010, an ultra-right-wing religious up paying a hefty fine. group known as Shiv Sena intimidated the University of Mumbai But what about Canada? Not here you say? Guess again. into removing the award-winning Canadian novel Such a Long Lawyer James Morton pointed out in 2010 that Canada does Journey by Rohinton Mistry for its portrayal of life in that country. have its own blasphemy laws. Since 1892, Canada’s Criminal Alan Cumyn, chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada, said at the Code has prohibited blasphemous libel, and anyone who pub- time: “It is unacceptable for an institution of higher learning to lishes one may go to prison for up to two years. The last prosecu- practise censorship of this nature … Freedom of expression must tion under this provision took place in 1935 but, as Morton points be a cornerstone of any democracy.” out, the law is still on the books and it could take only a single All these incidents can cause writers to think twice about com- complaint in some quarters to bring a charge. menting on things religious. In 1989, writer Salman Rushdie earned himself a death war- But those of us who value our freedom to write critically or rant for his musings about Islam in The Satanic Verses. In 2008, satirically about identifiable groups must gird ourselves against Maclean’s found itself before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for religious chill and remember the company we keep. Rushdie, publishing Mark Steyn’s insensitive slagging of Muslims in that Twain and even Jesus would agree.  magazine. And we all know the mayhem that the Danish cartoons Ron Brown is the chair of the Rights and Freedoms Committee of of the prophet Mohammed created in 2006. Introducing into a the Writers’ Union of Canada.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 35 BOOK PROFILE Fearless Female Journalists By Joy Crysdale (Second Story Press, 2010)

Reviewed by TERI DEGLER dous contribution by putting up a Fearless Female Journalists hits us with monument that said simply, “In honor a powerful double-barrelled message of a famous news reporter.” about freedom of expression. First, it As a photojournalist, Margaret Bourke- tells the stories of 10 amazing jour- White was one of the first reporters— nalists who have had the courage to male or female—to tell a story using express controversial ideas and expose pictures rather than words. She, too, laid situations that people in power wanted the groundwork for women who would to cover up. Next, it reveals how these later want to work in the media—and like reporters’ right to express themselves Cary and Bly, she used her freedom of was thwarted—and sometimes com- expression to fight for social justice. pletely obstructed—simply because they Fearless Female Journalists makes it were women. clear that these battles are still going on In our world today, we’re taught that and that the price women are paying is a woman can do virtually any job a man high. One such journalist was Russia’s can do, and it’s easy for us to forget just Anna Politkovskaya. A passionate, how hard women still have to fight to outspoken critic of Russia’s role in the be allowed to do some jobs. Fearless war in Chechnya, she was assassinated Female Journalists drives this fact home in 2006. Another is Farida Nekzad, an Afghan reporter who continues to speak by pointing out that no woman in the Fearless Female Journalists by Joy Crysdale United States had ever been solo anchor (Second Story Press, 2010) out against the Taliban despite death threats and the assassination of two on a national network news show until articles about slavery, racism and dis- other women reporters she knew. “Every 2006 when Katie Couric was assigned crimination. When the Civil War ended day I leave home,” says Nekzad, who that job. Pam Oliver, a Fox news sports- slavery, she added campaigning for the is the mother of a young daughter, “I caster, says that being a woman has right to vote for all women—regardless am not sure if I will return.” She adds: brought more discrimination against of colour—to her list of causes. Cary “Whether I am alive or dead, the strug- her on the job than being an African- stirred up controversy and made people gle will continue. Afghan women’s voices American. angry, but she never gave up. She was, should be heard.” Although women like Oliver and Couric as Pam Oliver said about herself more have faced big challenges to achieve than 100 years later, “not in the business The same can be said for all women’s what they have, they’d be the first to tell of being liked”! voices. And journalists like these women you that the earliest female journalists When Nellie Bly began writing in 1885, have made—and are making—it happen. faced far more daunting difficulties and there were only a handful of jobs for Every single story in this easy-to-read, that no woman working in the media women journalists in North America, and fascinating book is one of courage and today would be where she is without those jobs focused on “women’s issues” conviction. Fearless Female Journalists them. Fearless Female Journalists traces such as cooking, decorating and home paints a vivid picture of how important it the fascinating stories of three of these care. Although women weren’t widely is for us to continue to fight for the right early journalists: Mary Ann Shadd Cary, accepted as “serious” reporters, Nellie of all people everywhere—regardless of Nellie Bly and Margaret Bourke-White. Bly defied social norms, broke barriers gender or race—to express themselves Born in 1823, African-American Mary and took risks. For one assignment she and how powerful freedom of expression Ann Shadd Cary was 42 years old when allowed herself to be committed to what is when used as a tool to right terrible slavery was abolished in the United in those days was known as an insane wrongs. States. More fortunate than many, asylum to reveal the horrific condi- But reading these stories is important she was born to a “free” family in the tions suffered by the mentally ill. For on another level too, for it makes us ask: North where slavery wasn’t allowed. another, she posed as an unwed mother “Would I, could I be this brave?” They But black people had only limited free- to expose how babies were being sold started out, after all, as ordinary people doms, and black women had even fewer. illegally for adoption. Although Bly died just like each one of us ...  Undaunted, Cary became a writer and, poor and was buried in an unmarked Teri Degler is an award-winning author eventually, the first African-American grave, nearly six decades later the New and co-author of 10 non-fiction books editor. Fueled by outrage, she wrote York Press Club recognized her tremen- including The Divine Feminine Fire.

36 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011

BOOK PROFILE The News By Peter Steven (Groundwood Books, 2010) Just the Facts, Ma’am? Reviewed by MARC GLASSMAN children die not from war or complicated A recent addition to the House of Anansi diseases but from completely prevent- Press’s sturdy Groundwork Guide series, able illnesses such as diarrhea, caused The News is well suited for its dual read- by unclean water and poor sanitation. ership of budding journalists and teach- But these stories are rarely focused on.” ers working in media literacy. Veteran Getting down to basics, as the guide- writer, editor and Sheridan Institute of book structure requires him to do, Technology teacher Peter Steven has Steven makes it clear that reporters, created a thorough examination of how essayists and news anchors always talk journalism functions in the age of the about “the story.” If news can’t be relat- Internet. Recognizing that the creation ed through that format, it simply will not and dissemination of news is hardly a get told in any media. “The elements hermetic exercise, Steven shows that of urgency ... along with sudden and economic convergence, globalization and dramatic change, only take place when the mutual interests of big business and made into a story,” writes Steven. “This governments decisively affect the cre- means putting the material together to ative work of contemporary journalists. emphasize particular elements, such as Peter Steven never forgets that his conflict, and developing a storyline that main task is to offer a complete list The News by Peter Steven (Groundwood Books, 2010) creates drama, crisis, resolution and of journalism’s basics from the five living memory, forced 20 million people clear consequences for people.” Ws (who, what, where, why, when) to to leave their homes. Hundreds of Asian An awareness of storytelling, then, modern tabloid’s seven Cs: columnists, reporters rushed to the scene, produc- is essential to the young journalist. So crosswords, classifieds, comics, celebri- ing numerous reports and miles of good is an understanding of ethics, argues ties, channels (TV listings) and colour video footage.” Steven, who is acutely aware that moral (the weather, etc.). But that doesn’t stop In Canada, we never saw those spec- complexity is an inherent issue with him from wising up educators and their tacularly photographed scenes of the anyone who makes a living telling tales students to the realities that govern Asian disaster because that Minnesota about other people’s lives. their practice. He understands that the bridge collapse was repeated for days Admitting that “ethical questions are shifting forces of politics and commerce on CNN. It’s true that the rescue of the never simple,” Steven goes on: “We can influence what becomes newsworthy Chilean miners recently occupied the demand ... that our news organizations and what the media ignores. global stage but most of us, includ- set radically different priorities ... that Steven consistently points out that the ing Mr. Steven, would be hard pressed they drop the cynical attitudes that treat southern hemisphere lacks the “proxim- to cite another tale from the South ethics like a dirty word. It is unlikely that ity factor” which governs what stories American republic to have received such ... capitalist big media ... will suddenly are allowed to achieve worldwide promi- play since the death of General Pinochet. see the light and operate in support of nence. News editors in the United States By and large, Steven sticks to his task democracy. But we should demand it and Europe will always be more sympa- of presenting how the news is created, anyway ... The process will remind us thetic to a potential news item that is formatted and distributed through news- that news is power. And power can be taking place in their own backyards, in papers, magazines, radio, television and overturned.” the North and West, not thousands of the Net. Still, it’s fun to watch a slightly Peter Steven has created a guidebook kilometres south in Asia, Latin America subversive subtext running through the that should inspire students to use jour- or Africa. bite-sized descriptions of “talk radio,” nalism for social change. Barring that, Citing a bridge collapse in Minnesota “photojournalism” and “overlooked, they’ll at least learn how to get to first that claimed five lives in 2007, Steven ignored, suppressed.” The author’s base with a conglomerate. And that’s recounts how that story became impor- simple declarative sentences can be surely enough of The News for today.  tant enough to be broadcast around the followed easily in a classroom context, Marc Glassman is a journalist, film world while “floods in Bangladesh, India but it’s nice to imagine potential news programmer, documentary producer and Nepal, described as the worst in writers wrestling with the fact that “most and the editor in chief of POV magazine.

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 37 Freedom to Read Week Activities and Events Across Canada 2010

Below is a list of the events that took place before, during and after Freedom to Read Week 2010. You’ll find great ideas among the speakers, displays and activities for your own Freedom to Read Week event in 2011.

Airdrie Public Library Council. This year’s selection was And Tango Makes Three by Justin AIRDRIE, ALBERTA Richardson and Peter Parnell. The library created a display of banned and challenged books, Canadian Library Association Student Chapter bound in chains and handcuffs. Challenged books on the shelves and the Future Librarians for Intellectual throughout the library bore stickers that directed patrons to go to Freedom (FLIF) www.bookcrossing.com to “free” them. EDMONTON, ALBERTA Book and Periodical Council During Freedom to Read Week, students created a table display TORONTO, ONTARIO of banned books at the HUB mall at the University of Alberta. The The Good Fight: The Legal Limits of Free Expression students discussed freedom of expression and sold buttons and At the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, the BPC’s Freedom of Expression bookmarks. Proceeds benefitted the Greater Edmonton Library Committee hosted a panel discussion about the effect of libel Association’s Women’s Prison and Reintegration Subcommittee. law on writers. Guests included Toronto Star public editor Kathy Castle Downs Library English, Globe and Mail columnist Rick Salutin and media lawyers EDMONTON, ALBERTA Brian MacLeod Rogers and Paul Schabas. Erika Ritter moderated Freedom to Create the discussion. The Writers’ Union of Canada also presented its Patrons were invited to create their own masterpiece in the Freedom to Read Award to Alan Borovoy, the former head of the Free-for-All art project. The Freedom to Read Graffiti Wall was Canadian Civil Liberties Association. displayed at the 2010 Freedom Ball. The Calgary Freedom to Read Week Committee Edmonton Public Library CALGARY, ALBERTA EDMONTON, ALBERTA Celebration of Freedom to Read Week Banned Books Café The 2010 Calgary Freedom of Expression Award was presented to At EPL branches, patrons heard readings from challenged books the staff and volunteers of the Calgary Public Library for protecting and discussed censorship and freedom to read. the right of readers to choose, for themselves and for their children, what they wish to read. Gerry Meek, CEO of the library, accepted Edmonton Public Library the award. The three winners of the Freedom to Read Essay Contest EDMONTON, ALBERTA were invited to read their essays to the audience. Freedom Ball All were welcomed to the EPL’s Freedom Ball which combined The Calgary Freedom to Read Week Committee many freedom to read events. Guests were presented with the best CALGARY, ALBERTA Freedom Challenge submissions, and the entertainment included a Presentation of a Challenged Book performance of the People’s Poets—three Edmonton emcees The committee presented a challenged book to Calgary City and one DJ who rapped about social justice. Recommended Books About Freedom to Read Edmonton Public Library EDMONTON, ALBERTA Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read Freedom Challenge By Robert P. Doyle, American Library Association, 2010 The EPL challenged Edmontonians to “tell us what freedom of Burn This Book: PEN Writers Speak Out on the expression means to you.” Those who answered expressed Power of the Word themselves through photos, poems, songs, short stories, videos, Edited by Toni Morrison, HarperCollins Publishers, 2009 paintings and other media. Submissions were presented at the Fahrenheit 451: The 50th Anniversary Edition EPL Freedom Ball. By Ray Bradbury, Ballantine Books, 2003 Forbidden Fruit: Banned, Censored, and Challenged Forest Heights Collegiate Institute Books from Dante to Harry Potter KITCHENER, ONTARIO By Pearce J. Carefoote, Lester, Mason and Begg, 2007 Altered Books Display You Can’t Read This: Forbidden Books, Lost Writing, To celebrate Freedom to Read Week, the Grade 12 visual arts class Mistranslations and Codes created an exhibit of sculptures made from discarded books to By Val Ross, Tundra Books, 2006 raise awareness of intellectual freedom.

38 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Forest Lawn High School book sale and offered any challenged book for free. Photos were CALGARY, ALBERTA taken of shoppers with their new banned books. Freedom to Read Contest Manitoba Writers’ Guild and the Winnipeg Public The school held a freedom to read contest. Students wrote poems, Library created posters, took photographs and made videos to celebrate WINNIPEG, MANITOBA Freedom to Read Week. The best submissions won bookstore gift Freedom to Read Marathon certificates. People were invited to read from banned and challenged literature. Greater Victoria Public Library McNally Robinson Booksellers VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN Freedom to Read Book Review Contest Freedom to Read Photo Contest The library asked teens to review books that have been challenged McNally Robinson hosted a photo contest and displayed submis- in Canada. Reviewers were eligible to win one of 10 bookstore gift sions in the store. People voted for the photo that best represented certificates, each worth $20. the theme of Freedom to Read Week. The winner received a gift Harbord Collegiate Institute certificate at McNally Robinson. TORONTO, ONTARIO Medicine Hat Public Library Banned Book Contest MEDICINE HAT, ALBERTA The school’s library created a display of banned books and held Freedom to Read Display a guess-the-banned-book contest. A book wrapped in paper The library set up a display to encourage patrons to learn about and chains was put on display, along with clues about the title. censorship in Canada and celebrate Freedom to Read Week. Students were asked to identify the book; the first student to guess correctly won a gift certificate. New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD) Lethbridge Public Library FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA Freedom to Read Week Photography Exhibit Challenge Your Prejudices Photography students from NBCCD took pictures to illustrate the The LPL hosted a special display and contest to promote reading freedom to read. The photographs, displayed without captions for outside readers’ comfort zones. Participants marked off new genres free interpretation, appeared in the windows of Westminster Books and formats as they read for a chance to win a Freedom to Read for Freedom to Read Week. Prize Pack. Newfoundland and Labrador Library Association Library Association of the National Capital Region NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR and the English Department at the University of Freedom to Read 2010 Photo Contest Ottawa The library association asked patrons to submit photos about free- OTTAWA, ONTARIO dom of expression, freedom from censorship, promoting the written Dangerous Words word, and the importance of free reading. The winning photograph The library association and the English department worked togeth- and photographer appeared on the NLLA Freedom to Read Week er to create this celebration of Freedom to Read Week. A roundtable poster which was displayed in libraries across the province. The discussion on censorship featured Alan Cumyn, author; Diana winner also got a professionally mounted copy of the poster. Pepall, manager of the Ottawa Public Library; and Evan May, faculty member at the University of Ottawa. A banned-book pub quiz at the Olds Municipal Library Royal Oak followed the discussion. OLDS, ALBERTA Banned Book Discussion Literary Arts Windsor The library invited all to discuss book bannings in Canada. The WINDSOR, ONTARIO library also displayed challenged books in chains to demonstrate Anti-Censorship Evening lack of freedom. For Freedom to Read Week, Literary Arts Windsor organized an evening event. Marian Botsford Fraser, who chairs PEN’s Writers OPIRG Windsor and the University of Windsor in Prison Committee, acted as keynote speaker. She was joined by WINDSOR, ONTARIO Salvadoran writer Horacio Castellanos Moya, musician Len Wallace Banned Book Reading Room and a panel to discuss censorship in Canada and other democratic OPIRG Windsor, a non-profit organization, put together a Banned countries. Book Reading Room to provide students with a collection of ideo- logically radical and banned books. The Banned Book Library was Lumby United Church opened on the University of Windsor campus to provide students LUMBY, BRITISH COLUMBIA with an atmosphere where they can read freely. Freedom to Read Book Sale The church celebrated Freedom to Read Week with its annual used ACTIVITIES CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 39 ACTIVITIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 its collection to put on display. The display featured the staff’s Paterson Library Commons at Confederation College favourite banned items. THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and the University of The library displayed banned and challenged books. A presentation Saskatchewan summarized the history of censorship in Canada, with a focus on SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN recently challenged books. Library consultants visited classrooms Shhhhhhh! A Selection of Readings from Challenged Works to give their presentation and promote student discussion of cen- Both organizations reaffirmed Saskatoon’s commitment to sorship and freedom of expression. Students also took the Freedom intellectual freedom through a series of readings. Lori Tkachuk to Read Quiz at the presentation, in the library and online to win —a children’s librarian—and authors Mansel Robinson, Anne prizes (i.e., challenged books). Simpson and Lisa Wilson read from challenged books. PEN Canada and Toronto Public Library Spring Garden Road Memorial Public Library TORONTO, ONTARIO HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA Child Soldier: Banned in Canada? Freedom to Read Discussion A panel discussed Orwellian language and Canada’s human rights Gillian Thomas, a retired English professor at Saint Mary’s obligations. Guest speakers were Afua Cooper, scholar, author and University, discussed how libel laws affect writers and how the poet; Mark Kingwell, philosopher and critic; Judy Rebick, social freedom to write leads to the freedom to read. justice activist; and moderator Carol Off, author and broadcaster. Stanley A. Milner Library Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library and EDMONTON, ALBERTA the Atlantic Chapter of Canadian Women Freedom to View for Women in Afghanistan The library hosted a Special Teen Movie Scene screening of NEW GLASGOW, NOVA SCOTIA a challenged film and invited those aged 14–25 to watch Censorship in Afghanistan controversial films. The library combined its Freedom to Read Week event with the offi- cial launch of the Atlantic Chapter of Canadian Women for Women Stettler Public Library in Afghanistan. Dr. Susan Hartley, chair of the new chapter, gave the STETTLER, ALBERTA opening address. Peter MacKay, the minister of defence, addressed Freeing of Words current affairs in Afghanistan and Canadian efforts toward recon- The library repeated its symbolic freeing of words by having the struction and sustainable development there. CBC reporter Stephen public write words on bird-like pieces of paper (or decorating them Puddicombe hosted a talk on censorship in Afghanistan. if they chose). The librarians then hung the “birds” from the ceiling Queen’s University around the library. In addition, the library handed out “I’m with the banned” buttons which referred to www.freedomtoread.ca and the KINGSTON, ONTARIO Stettler Public Library. Queen’s University Reading Series Faculty, students, staff and local authors gathered in Speaker’s University of Victoria Libraries and Bookstore Corner, Stauffer Library, to celebrate the freedom to read. Readers VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA included Principal Daniel Woolf and local authors Wayne Grady, Find a Challenged or Banned Book Larry Scanlan and Diane Schoemperlen. To celebrate Freedom to Read Week’s twenty-sixth anniversary, 26 Saint John Free Public Library campus representatives released 26 challenged books through BookCrossing.com. Books were released on campus and in the area SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK to spread the word about challenged and banned books. The books Plug Your Ears: A Selection of Readings from Challenged Books were tracked on the BookCrossing Web site as they were freed The mayor read a Freedom to Read proclamation, declaring Saint again in public places to continue their journeys. John a Freedom to Read Zone during a city council meeting. Following a reading of the proclamation over the library’s public Vancouver Island Regional Library address system, Plug Your Ears featured readings of banned and VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA challenged books as well as a discussion of the history and sig- Freedom to Read Week Display nificance of Freedom to Read Week. The monthly meeting of the The 39 branches of the VIRL each displayed banned books during library’s Youth Advisory Group included a discussion about freedom Freedom to Read Week. A list of challenged book titles was to read. All during Freedom to Read Week, library users submitted displayed for patrons to browse. answers to a thought-provoking quiz. Wordfest and the Writers Guild of Alberta Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and CALGARY, ALBERTA Technology (SIAST) Celebrate Freedom to Read Week REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN Both organizations held a reading in support of our freedom to Freedom to Read Week Displays write, read and express ourselves. Todd Babiak, a board member The Wascana campus of SIAST picked out banned books from of PEN Canada, read from his new book, Toby: A Man. 

40 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Get Involved Ideas for Educators

The Get Involved section is based on the articles that and other courses about intellectual freedom. The Get appear in the preceding pages of Freedom to Read. Involved activities are designed for classroom instruc- The objectives of this section are to tion and discussion. • highlight freedom of thought and freedom Get Involved is also intended for citizens outside of expression as universal human rights; the classroom who wish to plan community events. This section includes ideas for publicizing challenged • examine the educational value of controversial books and magazines in Canada, organizing events texts; that draw attention to freedom of expression and • emphasize tolerance of other people’s viewpoints generating publicity for local events. as a vital principle of democratic education. We encourage you to use these ideas to Get Involved The target group for this section includes high during Freedom to Read Week and all year round. We school, college and university students who discuss sincerely hope your efforts have an impact in your language and literature, politics, society, history, law classroom and your community.

Organize an Essay-Writing Contest During Freedom to Read Week

WINNING STUDENT ESSAYS FROM THE CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY

the freedom to read is an extremely If all we could read was heavily cen- The Freedom important right for all people. I sored by the government, we might all to Read believe this for many reasons. believe the same things, which would Everybody should have the right to make for a very boring and monotonous By BRENNAN (Grade 8) experience different viewpoints, even society. We are all from different back- hat would we do if if they may be quite extreme or biased. grounds, have different religions and we couldn’t read our As long as these books are read by a have different political views. We should favourite books any mature audience who knows right from read as we please at our own discretion more just because wrong, they should be allowed. There or at our parents’ discretion if we are too Wthey contained a different topic, an are always going to be a variety of view- young to decide for ourselves. extremist viewpoint or even a bad points expressed by a variety of people. As well, some of the books that are word? When we have the freedom to If we can experience these viewpoints banned, or have been banned, have read, are we adding more to society in a book, we will be better prepared to been banned only because a few people or are we allowing books to influ- argue for or against them when we are filed complaints. We can’t let a whole ence us too much? I believe that older. ESSAY CONTEST CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 41 G E T I N V O L V E D

out of public view. The people who are against this subject do not think it is right for us to be learning about it. I think that it is extremely important to learn about our history and the history of all other cultures in the world. You really get to understand that some other people (whom you thought were so different from you) are actually quite the same. They all went through the same situations long ago. Any subject—not just history—is important to learn. I think that everyone should be aware of what is and was going on in our world, and books help us do just that. Books and reading bring the world closer together. If everyone takes the time to think about what it means to have the freedom to read, I think that we will all suddenly under- stand one another’s points of view. For Plantu’s award-winning cartoon, published in Le Monde (see Awards, page 30) example, just because I like soccer and ESSAY CONTEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 lem is that some of those people who other people do not, we should all still country lose the ability to read a book have many strong opinions don’t agree have access to soccer books and have simply because one or two people found on what we should be allowed to read. the choice to decide which books we it “offensive.” For example, if a person thinks that want to read. And we can’t have a For these reasons, I believe the free- something is bad, he or she might opt communist world to do so. dom to read is one of the most impor- to take out all of the books that have to So pick up a book and read! Reading tant rights that we have in this country. do with that subject. If the person has develops the mind and it is very enjoy- We should be allowed to read what we more authority in the library or book able. I LOVE BOOKS! choose as individuals. system, he or she would definitely have more say in which books are allowed to The Freedom be out for the public to read. I have seen Reading for school libraries that do not offer the full- to Read est variety of books because they don’t Democracy agree on the different points of view (or By CARISSA By MATTHEW (Grade 8) subjects) in the books. Instead of voting eading is such a pow- or even thinking about the possibilities We are not afraid to erful tool! You can that their students have lost, the librar- entrust the American learn so much from ies just take the books out. This isn’t people with unpleas- reading. It is actually just or fair for anyone. ant facts, foreign provenR that you absorb, or remem- ideas, alien philosophies, and competi- Every person in the world believes that tive values. For a nation that is afraid to ber, information about what you some subjects should not be learned. If let its people judge the truth and false- have just read. Reading is such an every single person who doesn’t believe hood in an open market is a nation that important aspect of life. It would be in reading about that subject spoke his is afraid of its people.” a shame if there were no books to or her mind and got those books taken John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth read or just no books at all. That is away, we would eventually evolve into president of the United States, was the what might happen if we let people a world that has no books to read. For author of this quote. He was referring choose what we are allowed to read. example, topics such as the history of to the Freedom of Information Act, but There are many people out there who the First Nations might bring up some this wise statement could have been as have different beliefs. It’s not a bad issues. There will be some people who easily applied to the banning of books. thing to believe in different things or do not want us to read about these sub- have different traditions. But the prob- jects and will forcibly take these books ESSAY CONTEST CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

42 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Start a Banned-Book Club

SELECT A BOOK THAT HAS BEEN CHALLENGED, AND MAKE CENSORSHIP THE FOCUS OF YOUR GROUP DISCUSSION. FOR A LIST OF CHALLENGED BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, GO TO THE CENSORSHIP IN CANADA SECTION ON FREEDOM TO READ: WWW.FREEDOMTOREAD.CA. THIS LIST INCLUDES DETAILS ON WHEN AND WHY EACH BOOK OR MAGAZINE WAS CHALLENGED.

Recommended titles that have been discussed in book clubs include the following: • THE GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman • THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood • TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee • THE WARS by Timothy Findley • WILD SWANS by Jung Chang Here are some discussion questions to use with any challenged book: • This novel has been challenged at least once. Why do you think it has been challenged? Which group or groups may object to the book? • Which elements of this book continue to be controversial today? Do you think there will ever be a time when this book would never be challenged? • Schools regularly field challenges from parents or members of the community who feel that a book is inappropriate for younger readers. Is it important that younger readers read and study this book? Why or why not? Book discussion guides and background content can be found at www.readinggroupguides.com and www.readinggroupchoices.com.

ESSAY CONTEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 42 ened anti-slavery sentiment in the North a black-rights activist who was beaten Access to knowledge is the cornerstone and indirectly led to the Civil War which to death by state police. This banning of democracy; books are one of the best led to emancipation. It is still in print to of writing that criticized the state pro- sources of knowledge. remind us that a book can help fix an longed apartheid because white South Knowledgeable citizens of a vibrant injustice. Africans’ access to information was democracy choose good leaders and A citizen who is ill-informed will be restricted. South Africa was not a true support good policies. Take the example easily misled by leaders and will sup- democracy at the time. of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher port bad policies. In South Africa, for Citizens in a society must have the Stowe which was a book written in 1852 example, journalist Donald Woods was freedom to read so that they can make about the lives of American slaves. It forbidden to publish his writing because the correct choices. This is why the free- was banned in the South, but strength- he had printed pictures of Stephen Biko, dom to read is important to me. 

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 43 G E T I N V O L V E D Speak Out for the Freedom to Read

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN CANADA. HERE ARE JUST A FEW SUGGESTIONS TO HELP YOU ORGANIZE AND GET INVOLVED.

A | BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION Suggested films include Sedition by Min Sook Lee and Little Select a banned book for your next book club meeting, or start Sister’s vs. Big Brother by Aerlyn Weissman. a book club that reads only banned books. K | CREATE A DISPLAY OF DEFACED B | BANNED BOOK LIST BOOKS Post a list of banned books on your Web site, or publish the list Ask library staff to collect books that have been defaced (e.g., as a bookmark. with racist or anti-gay slurs) or destroyed to prevent other people from reading them. C | BANNED BOOK SWAP Organize a book swap and create a space where people share L | FORUM ON FREEDOM OF stories and experiences about book-banning. EXPRESSION See www.paperbackswap.com as a model. Host an author, a publisher or an advocacy group which has been sued to silence them. D | PANEL DISCUSSION: AUTHORS OF BANNED BOOKS M | NINETY SECOND MEGAPHONE Host a panel discussion of authors whose books have been Set up a Freedom to Speak Station where anyone can pick up a banned or challenged. Invite the public to attend. megaphone to speak his or her mind for 90 seconds. E | CHALLENGED PLAYS N | FREE SPEECH BOARD With a local theatre company, organize a staged reading of a Set up a Free Speech Board that allows anyone to post mes- challenged or banned play. sages, quotes, poems or ideas. F | BOOKCROSSING O | CHALKING FOR FREE EXPRESSION Register banned books online at BookCrossing.com and follow Collect famous quotations on freedom of expression, and write them on their journeys from reader to reader. them in chalk across the school campus or on city streets. G | BANNED BOOK DISPLAY P | WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Create displays of banned books in your library or school. Let your local newspaper know how you feel about banned or challenged books. Such letters are important even if they don’t H | READ-A-THON get printed. Host a 24-hour reading marathon. Have students and authors read aloud from banned books. Consider raising funds for an Q | HOST A PHOTO CONTEST organization that defends free expression. Ask participants to submit photos about freedom of expression or anything that promotes the written word. Display the sub- I | BOOK CHALLENGES AND PRIVACY missions during Freedom to Read Week, and give out books as ISSUES prizes to the winners. Host a talk about the defence of intellectual freedom. R | ORGANIZE A DEBATE J | FILM SCREENINGS Have students debate the pros and cons of banning specific Curate a series of films to illustrate the many faces of film cen- books, teaching certain issues in schools or curbing certain sorship. Include the role of government and focus on Canada. kinds of speech in Canada.

44 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Challenged Books and Magazines THE LIST BELOW FEATURES SOME TITLES THAT HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED IN CANADA. CHALLENGES OFTEN DO NOT RESULT IN BANS, BUT SOMETIMES THEY DO. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE TITLES AND OUR CHALLENGED PUBLICATIONS LIST, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FREEDOMTOREAD.CA. Adult Fiction Ulysses The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler by James Joyce A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess In 1923, the commissioner of the Dance Me Outside by W.P. Kinsella Department of Customs and Excise Different Seasons by Stephen King directed officers at the border to ban The Diviners by Margaret Laurence Ulysses from importation into Canada. Embracing Skeletons by Peter Turnbull He regarded Joyce’s avant-garde novel Faun and Games by Piers Anthony as obscene and illegal. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood At the time, no one had the right In the Heat of the Night by John Ball to appeal a Customs ruling to a court. by Yuk Yuk’s A banned publication stayed on the Jokes Men Only Tell Other Men prohibited list until Customs officials Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence changed their minds. Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro In 1949, David Sim, the deputy minis- Man Sitting in a Corridor by Marguerite Duras ter of the Department of Customs and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Excise, read Ulysses while he was on The New York City Bartender’s Joke Book by Jimmy Pritchard vacation and decided it was no longer The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie obscene. Without fanfare, Sim lifted the Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson ban and allowed the novel into Canada. The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris Survivor by J.F. Gonzalez Mog and Takes One to Know One by Kate Allen The Turner Diaries by William Pierce the Granny Twenty-Seven Bones by Jonathan Nasaw by Judith Kerr The Wars by Timothy Findley by Jane Rule In 2008, the Greater Victoria Public The Young in One Another’s Arms Library in B.C. chucked this children’s book about a cat named Mog into the Adult Non-Fiction recycling bin. The library had received Black Looks by bell hooks a complaint: the book was “racist.” Color Psychology and Color Therapy by Faber Birren The text refers to “Red Indians.” Final Exit by Derek Humphry The library’s collection development Gay Ideas by Richard Mohr committee did, however, review the Hitler’s War by David Irving book first. The committee decided that The Homoerotic Photograph by Allen Ellenzweig “the narrative and illustrations are indeed dated and, if not deliberately Jane magazine racist, certainly demeaning according Lethal Marriage by Nick Pron to current standards.” Outlaw Representation by Richard Meyer Mog and the Granny is part of a popu- Paul Kagame and Rwanda by Colin M. Waugh lar series of books published in Britain. Pornography by Andrea Dworkin Between 1996 and 2008, 450 people Rolling Stone magazine borrowed the library’s five copies. Scrambled Brains by Pierre LeBlanc and Robin Konstabaris CHALLENGED CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 45 CHALLENGED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 Suffer Little Children by Dereck O’Brien Vue Weekly Waging War from Canada by Mike Pearson Wallpaper magazine Woman Hating by Andrea Dworkin Written in the Flesh by Edward Shorter Young-Adult and Children’s Books The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus by Hergé And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Ani Croche by Bertrand Gauthier Asha’s Mums by Rosamund Elwin and Michele Paulse Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block The Beast of Monsieur Racine by Tomi Ungerer Black Like Kyra, White Like Me by Judith Vigna Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Bumface by Morris Gleitzman Cat on the Hill by Michael Foreman The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Shepherd’s The Fear Street series by R.L. Stine Granddaughter The First Time by Charles Montpetit (ed.) by Anne Laurel Carter Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates (Groundwood Books, 2008) The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman In March 2010, B’nai Brith Canada called The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine for the removal of this young-adult novel Green Arrow: Quiver by Kevin Smith et al. about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling recommended reading program for students How Did I Begin? by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom in Grades 7 and 8 in Ontario’s public schools. I’ll Always Love You by Hans Wilhelm Brian Henry—a parent with a child in a Toronto public school—also complained The Importance of Muhammad by Marilyn Oliver about the novel in a letter to Ontario’s The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks minister of education. Both B’nai Brith J’ai besoin de personne by Reynald Cantin Canada and Henry described the novel Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George as anti-Israeli propaganda. Little Bird’s ABC by Piet Grobler The complaints provoked responses. Sheila The Little Black Book for Girlz Ward, a trustee on the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), declared her intention to have Matthew and the Midnight Flood by Allen Morgan the novel removed from all school library Moonkid and Liberty by Paul Kropp shelves. Anne Laurel Carter and the novel’s Noah’s Cats and the Devil’s Fire by Arielle North Olson publisher—Patsy Aldana—denied the charge Outrageously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor of anti-Israeli bias. Erna Paris—chair of the La première fois by Charles Montpetit (ed.) Writers’ Union of Canada—and Aldana urged Qu’est-ce que vous faites là? by Dominique Jolin the TDSB to defend students’ freedom to read. Others defended the novel’s educational and Le secret d’Ève by Reynald Cantin literary value. Snow White in New York by Fiona French In June, a review committee of the TDSB Street Art: The Spray Files by Louis Bou said that teachers should use the novel to Three Wishes by Deborah Ellis encourage students to read and think critically. Trouble on Tarragon Island by Nikki Tate In August 2010, Chris Spence—the TDSB’s The Waiting Dog by Carolyn and Andrea Beck director of education—decided to keep the We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier novel in the recommended-reading program. Ziggy, Piggy and the Three Little Pigs by Frank Asch

46 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 Teaching Controversy

By MOIRA WONG and JOSH BLOCH and learners with the skills and practices to recognize ne alternative to banning controversial biases in their own emotional and intellectual responses publications in schools is to provide and in those of other people. Thus the TDSB firmly invests students with the tools to think criti- within conflict as an extremely necessary and important cally about difficult and divisive issues. way in which learners learn about their world and develop In 2003, the Toronto District School individual autonomy. BoardO (TDSB) introduced A Teaching Resource for Dealing The TDSB resource includes eight excellent lesson plans with Controversial and Sensitive Issues in Toronto District for Grades K–12. Reprinted below is a useful introduc- School Board Classrooms. The central learning strategy tion from the guide to a lesson plan on teaching To Kill in the resource is to prepare young people as sovereign, a Mockingbird. The full guide can be downloaded from democratic citizens. This strategy requires exposing stu- www.tdsb.on.ca. dents to a wide spectrum of opinions and values so that Moira Wong is a course director at the Faculty of Education they can make informed decisions about their own devel- at York University and has worked in the equity depart- oping systems of beliefs. ment at the TDSB. She is one of the authors of the TDSB’s The Teaching Resource encourages classrooms to resource guide on teaching sensitive and controversial embrace conflicting perspectives and provides teachers issues.

Excerpt from A Teaching Resource for Dealing with Controversial and Sensitive Issues: “Examination of the Role of Perspective in Novel Study”

Teachers may be aware of many author’s intent is to expose racism, the and respond to texts from differing per- examples of secondary school litera- book provides a very limited perspective spectives, based on their complex social ture appropriate to this topic. The text on African Americans (“Negroes” in the locations (e.g., race, gender, economic chosen for this demonstration is To Kill language of the book). Knowledge of status) and experiences. When people a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee. the African-American man [whom] the have similar reading experiences and Immersion teachers can use Zahra by hero defends is largely related by the interpretations, it is often because they Evelyne Kuhn and Les Chemins secrets narrator. Rarely too are the opinions and are from the same “reading community” de la liberté [by Barbara Smucker]. concerns of African Americans voiced (Fish, 1980). A white middle-class reader To Kill a Mockingbird is often used to in the novel. While their subservience can identify with Scout and Atticus and generate discussion and analysis of is shown, the ways in which they exer- dissociate from the white racist (and racial prejudice and discrimination. cised resistance to racism are under- underclass) characters in the novel. As However, to achieve this goal, it needs represented. It is unlikely that the a white reader, it is also possible to fin- to be handled carefully for a number of author would have been privy to this ish the novel with one’s racial identity reasons. information, given African Americans’ relatively intact. At the novel’s conclu- First, Mockingbird is written by a white need to protect themselves in a white sion, Atticus has fought injustice, Jem author, it features a white hero, and supremacist society. is saved, Bob Ewell dispatched, and the [it] is narrated from the viewpoint of a Second, just as authors write from loose ends are all neatly tucked away naïve, young white girl. Even though the differing perspectives, individuals read CONTROVERSY CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

FREEDOM TO READ 2011 | 47 CONTROVERSY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 In terms of teaching strategy, half the why the author allows some of the white for the novel’s “sympathetic” white class could read each novel, or the whole characters to voice their racist attitudes: characters. But for an African American, class could read both. Students could for example, students can examine the identification with the African-American compare how similar events are related dialogue in which Mrs. Farrow character- characters in the novel might be more or experienced from the perspective of izes “Negroes” as sulky, ungrateful and demoralizing. They are largely seen African-American and white characters in incapable of improvement. Does Lee use through white eyes, and at the novel’s the two novels. this character to give a more realistic end Tom is dead, and the voices of pain Before or after reading the novel, stu- understanding of the limited visions of and rage in the African-American commu- dents might read and discuss excerpts a larger community? Would the story be nity are not heard. from Peggy MacIntosh’s essay, “White more effective if the racist attitudes were For these reasons, it would be advis- Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible never expressed? The teacher can also able to teach the novel in tandem with Knapsack” (www.utoronto.ca/acc/ ask students to examine how derogatory one in which African Americans tell their events/peggy1.htm) to see the many language can shape and promote ste- own story. Many such novels are cur- ways in which whiteness grants social reotypes and negative racial attitudes. rently available. Roll of Thunder, Hear My mobility. While reading the novel, the In addition, this novel can help stu- Cry [by Mildred D. Taylor] is told from the teacher might encourage students to dents examine historical, linguistic and perspective of a young African-American consider whose interest is served in Lee’s economic factors that lead to negative girl living in the southern United States portrayal of the racist Mrs. Dubose as a biases and oppression.  during the Depression. It shows that somewhat “sympathetic” character, and Reproduced with permission. See African Americans did not rely solely in Atticus’s advice to Scout and Jem that A Teaching Resource for Dealing with on whites to fight their battles against they (and the reader) should try to stand Controversial and Sensitive Issues discrimination for them. It examines the in her shoes. Students can also apply in Toronto District School Board many ways in which they resisted racism. the concept of perspective in analyzing Classrooms (2003), pp. 48–49.

48 | FREEDOM TO READ 2011 www.freedomtoread.ca