Interpreting Censorship in Canada

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

KLAUS PETERSEN AND ALLAN C. HUTCHINSON, EDITORS Interpreting Censorship in Canada UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London Contents PREFACE IX 1 Censorship! Or Is It? 3 KLAUS PETERSEN 2 Chameleon on a Changing Background: The Politics of Censorship in Canada 19 REG WHITAKER 3 Pluralism and Hate: Freedom, Censorship, and the Canadian Identity 40 SAMUEL V. LaSELVA 4 Judging Speech: An Inquiry into the Supreme Court's Theory of Signification 56 MARIANA VALVERDE 5 Beyond Censorship: An Essay on Free Speech and Law 80 JOEL BAKAN 6 The Censorship of Commercial Speech, with Special Reference to Tobacco Product Advertising 101 WILLIAM LEISS 7 Undercover Censorship: Exploring the History of the Regulation of Publica- tions in Canada 129 BRUCE RYDER vi Contents 8 Censorship in Schools: Orthodoxy, Diversity, and Cultural Coherence 157 SHAHEEN SHARIFF AND MICHAEL MANLEY-CASIMIR 9 Walking the Tightrope: Management of Censorship Attempts in Canadian Libraries 182 ANN CURRY 10 The Ethos of Censorship in English-Canadian Literature: An Ontoporno- sophical Approach 199 LORRAINE WEIR 11 'Pornography Disguised as Art': Some Recent Episodes concerning Censorship and the Visual Arts in Canada 221 SCOTT WATSON 12 Canada, Censorship, and the Internet 241 DONALD F. THEALL 13 The Social Psychology of Censorship 268 JAMES M. OLSON AND VICTORIA M. ESSES 14 The Muted Bugle: Self-Censorship and the Press 290 RANDAL MARLIN 15 Censorship by Inadvertence? Selectivity in the Production of TV News 318 LYDIA MILJAN AND BARRY COOPER 16 Selective Marginalization of Aboriginal Voices: Censorship in Public Performance 334 ALLAN McDOUGALL AND LISA PHILIPS VALENTINE 17 The Ironies of Academic Freedom 351 PAUL AXELROD 18 The Market and Professional Censorship of Canadian School Textbooks 367 ROWLAND LORIMER Contents vii 19 Sense and Censorship: Towards a Different Account of Expressive Freedom 386 ALLAN C. HUTCHINSON APPENDIX: FILM CENSORSHIP 403 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 413 CONTRIBUTORS 417 INDEX 423.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Religion, Homosexuality, and Collisions of Liberty and Equality in American Public Law
A Jurisprudence of "Coming Out": Religion, Homosexuality, and Collisions of Liberty and Equality in American Public Law William N. Eskridge, Jr.! Conflicts among religious and ethnic groups have scored American cultural and political history. Some of these conflicts have involved campaigns of suppression against deviant religious and minority ethnic groups by the mainstream. Although the law has most often been deployed as an instrument of suppression, there is now a public law consensus to preserve and protect the autonomy of religious and ethnic subcultures, as well as the ability of their members to self-identify without penalty. One thesis of this Essay is that this vaunted public law consensus should be extended to sexual orientation minorities as well. Like religion, sexual orientation marks both personal identity and social divisions.' In this century, in fact, sexual orientation has steadily been replacing religion as the identity characteristic that is both physically invisible and morally polarizing. In 1900, one's group identity was largely defined by one's ethnicity, social class, sex, and religion. The norm was Anglo-Saxon, middle-class, male, and Protestant. The Jew, Roman Catholic, or Jehovah's Witness was considered deviant and was subject to social, economic, and political discrimination. In 2000, one's group identity will be largely defined by one's race, income, sex, and sexual orientation. The norm will be white, middle-income, male, and heterosexual. The lesbian, gay man, or transgendered person will be considered deviant and will be subject to social, economic, and political discrimination. t Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center. An earlier draft of this Essay was presented at workshops held at the Georgetown University Law Center.
[Show full text]
Broadcasting Canada's War: How the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Reported the Second World War
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017 Broadcasting Canada's War: How the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Reported the Second World War Sweazey, Connor Sweazey, C. (2017). Broadcasting Canada's War: How the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Reported the Second World War (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25173 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3759 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Broadcasting Canada's War: How the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Reported the Second World War by Connor Sweazey A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2017 © Connor Sweazey 2017 Abstract Public Canadian radio was at the height of its influence during the Second World War. Reacting to the medium’s growing significance, members of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) accepted that they had a wartime responsibility to maintain civilian morale. The CBC thus unequivocally supported the national cause throughout all levels of its organization. Its senior administrations and programmers directed the CBC’s efforts to aid the Canadian war effort.
[Show full text]
1 Works in English on Free Expression and Censorship In
Works in English on Free Expression and Censorship in Canada Books Baum, Daniel J. Freedom of Expression. Toronto: Dundurn, 2014. Bergen, Robert. Censorship, the Canadian News Media and Afghanistan: A Historical Comparison with Case Studies. Calgary: Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, 2009. Birdsall, Peter, and Dolores Broten. Mind War: Censorship in English Canada. Victoria: Canlit, 1978. Booth, David. Censorship Goes to School. Toronto: Pembroke Publishers, 1992. Borovoy, A. Alan. At the Barricades: A Memoir. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014. ———. The New Anti-Liberals. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 1999. Botting, Gary. Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1993. Bourrie, Mark. The Fog of War: Censorship of Canada’s Media in World War Two. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2011. ———. Kill the Messengers: Stephen Harper’s Assault on Your Right to Know. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015. Braun, Stefan. Democracy Off Balance: Freedom of Expression and Hate Propaganda Law in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. Burstyn, Varda, ed. Women against Censorship. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1985. Canada. Consolidated Orders respecting Censorship. Ottawa: s.n., 1918. 1 Canada. Senate. Special Committee on the Sale and Distribution of Salacious and Indecent Literature. Proceedings of the Special Committee on the Sale and Distribution of Salacious and Indecent Literature. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1953. Canada. Special Committee on Pornography and Prostitution. Pornography and Prostitution in Canada: Summary. Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1985. Canadian Artists’ Representation. A Brief Submitted to the Minister of Justice regarding the Proposed Bill to Amend the Criminal Code on Pornography. Ottawa: CARFAC, 1987. Cohen, Mark. Censorship in Canadian Literature.
[Show full text]
Censorship, Borders, and the Queer Poetics of Disclosure in English-Canadian Writing, 1967-2000
Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-21-2017 12:00 AM Crossing the Line: Censorship, Borders, and the Queer Poetics of Disclosure in English-Canadian Writing, 1967-2000 Kevin T. Shaw The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Manina Jones The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in English A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Kevin T. Shaw 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Literature in English, North America Commons Recommended Citation Shaw, Kevin T., "Crossing the Line: Censorship, Borders, and the Queer Poetics of Disclosure in English- Canadian Writing, 1967-2000" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4526. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4526 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Since Confederation enshrined Canada Customs’ mandate to seize “indecent and immoral” material, the nation’s borders have served as discursive sites of sexual censorship for the LGBTTQ lives and literatures that cross the line. While the Supreme Court’s decision in Little Sisters v. Canada (2000) upheld the agency’s power to exclude obscenity, the Court found Customs discriminatory in their preemptive seizures of LGBTTQ material. Extrapolating from this case of the state’s failure to sufficiently ‘read’ queer sex at the border, this dissertation moves beyond studies of how obscenity law regulates literary content to posit that LGBTTQ authors innovate aesthetics in response to a complex network of explicit and implicit forms of censorship.
[Show full text]
Press Censorship, Politics and French Canada, 1940
Skirting the Minefield: Press Censorship, Politics and French Canada, 1940 GEORGE D. KERR, University of Western Ontario In a democracy with a strong tradition of freedom of the press, the imposition of censorship as a wartime necessity is rarely accomplished without considerable difficulty in its execution and in the definition of its limits. In Canada during the Second World War, the difficulty of controlling the flow of news in the interests of the war effort was compounded because the French-Canadians were in general unenthusiastic about their country's participation in a war which many regarded as none of Canada's business. The imposition of censorship had to take into account not only the general curtailment of freedom of expression, but also the sensitivities of that part of the population which had previously shown its reluctance to accept coercive or restrictive measures during the First World War.' Although press censorship remained a controversial issue in Canada for the duration of the war, the most intense opposition to it was manifested in 1940, not merely because the precipitating cause was controversial in itself, but because it highlighted the most divisive domestic issue in the country, the different perception of national goals and purposes maintained by Canada's two 'founding peoples.' It was over an issue arising from the imposition of press censorship that this major cleavage revealed itself for the first, but not the last time in Canada. Censorship was accepted as an unpleasant, but unavoidable necessity by most of Canada's newspapers when war broke out in 1939. As Canada's leading daily newspaper, the Toronto Globe and Mailstated, 'Freedom of speech must be curtailed when the nation is .
[Show full text]
Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium
Court File No: 26858 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA (ON APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA) BETWEEN: LITTLE SISTERS BOOK AND ART EMPORIUM B.C. CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION JAMES EATON DEVA AND GUY ALLEN BRUCE SMYTHE Appellants (Plaintiffs) and MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Respondents (Defendants) ______________________________ APPELLANT'S FACTUM ______________________________ PART I - STATEMENT OF FACTS 1. The principal business of the Appellant, Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium ("Little Sisters") is the sale of books and magazines most of which are written by and for gay men and lesbians. Most of the books and magazines sold by Little Sisters are published in the United States and imported into Canada by Little Sisters. The Appellant, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has demonstrated a longstanding, genuine and continuing concern for the rights of disadvantaged groups or individuals in Canada and has likewise opposed censorship of allegedly obscene books and magazines. Amended Statement of Claim, paras. 6, 7 & 2. Appellants' Record ("AR") Vol. I, pp. 37, 36. 2. From about 1985 and from time to time to the trial, hundreds of books and magazines that Little Sisters has purchased and sought to import into Canada have been detained, prohibited and/or destroyed by customs officials pursuant to the Customs Legislation on the grounds that the books and magazines were "obscene". Amended Statement of Claim, para. 8. AR Vol. I, pp. 37-38. 3. This case concerns the constitutionality of Tariff Code 9956(a) of Schedule VII (now Tariff Item 9899.00.00) and s.
[Show full text]
Online Liberty: Freedom of Expression in the Information Age
102 - DALHOUSIE JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES ONLINE LIBERTY: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE INFORMATION AGE ROBERT DAWKINst ABSTRACT Cyberspace is generally conceived as a highly participato1y environ- ment that facilitates broad-based participation in the free marketplace of ideas. This paper considers the impact of the new media context upon the constitutional validity of laws regulating expressive content. Cana- dian jurisprudence regarding freedom of expression rights pursuant to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are reviewed and con-2001 CanLIIDocs 27 trasted with the American medium specific approach. It is argued that current Canadian jurisprudence indicates that the new media context should not alter the level of scrutiny in the Section 1 analysis. While the democratizing influence of cyberspace is laudable, new media must be considered in the context of Canadian society and Charter values. The constitutional validity of laws regulating the content of online expres- sion must not be determined by technology at the expense of general social and constitutional principles. INTRODUCTION Cyberspace is generally conceived of as a highly participatory envi- ronment that facilitates broad-based participation in the free market- place of ideas. The accessibility of the Internet has significantly in- creased the ability of individual persons to access information and to express their opinions to the connnunity at large. As a result, the content of cyberspace has been said to be "as diverse as human thought."1 t Robert Dawkins graduated with a B.A. (Honours) from the University of Toronto and Dalhousie Law School with an LLB. He would like to thank Professor Teresa Scassa and Professor Wayne Mackay for their suggestions and constrnctive criticism in writing this paper.
[Show full text]
A History of Censorship of Gay and Lesbian Sexual Representation in Canada
Cossman Proof 1 (Do Not Delete) 2/18/2014 11:25 AM View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Duke Law Scholarship Repository Censor, Resist, Repeat: A History of Censorship of Gay and Lesbian Sexual Representation in Canada BRENDA COSSMAN* I. INTRODUCTION Canada has a long and illustrious history of censorship. Since 1867, it would seem that a defining characteristic of Canadian national identity has been to censor, particularly at our borders, to make sure that material that would “deprave and corrupt” was not permitted entry into our country. The censorship of gay and lesbian1 materials is of a slightly more recent vintage, largely paralleling the rise of the gay and lesbian liberation movement in the 1970s. This is not to say that gay and lesbian themed material was not censored before the 1970s. It was. But the heyday of gay and lesbian censorship follows the emergence of the gay and lesbian liberation movement in the 1970s and 1980s. In this essay, I review this history of censorship, focusing on both customs censorship and criminal obscenity prosecutions. I argue that despite many legal defeats, the censorship of gay and lesbian sexual representations in Canada failed; indeed it failed precisely by its own internal contradictory nature. Censorship controversies, I argue, represent a site of public contestation over legitimate and illegitimate speech, and more specifically, that censorship controversies over sexual speech represent a contestation over sexual normativity. Relying on the new censorship studies literature, I argue that each moment of censorship mobilized resistance, making the story of censorship one of resistance and of redrawing the borders of legitimate sexual speech.
[Show full text]
A City Goes to War: Victoria in the Great War 1914-1918
A City Goes to War: Victoria in the Great War 1914-1918 by James S. Kempling B.A., Royal Military College 1965 M.P.A., University of Victoria 1978 M.A., University of Victoria 2011 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History © James S. Kempling, 2019 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii A City Goes to War: Victoria in the Great War 1914-1918 by James S. Kempling B.A., Royal Military College 1965 M.P.A., University of Victoria 1978 M.A. (History), University of Victoria 2011 Supervisory Committee Dr. David Zimmerman, Supervisor Department of History Dr. John Lutz, Departmental Member Department of History Dr. Jentery Sayers, Outside Member Department of English iii Abstract This dissertation is a combined digital history-narrative history project. It takes advantage of newly digitized historical newspapers and soldier files to explore how the people of Victoria B.C. Canada, over 8000 kilometers from the front, experienced the Great War 1914-1918. Although that experience was similar to other Canadian cities in many ways, in other respects it was quite different. Victoria’s geographical location on the very fringe of the Empire sets it apart. Demographic and ethnic differences from the rest of Canada and a very different history of indigenous-settler relations had a dramatic effect on who went to war, who resisted and how war was commemorated in Victoria.
[Show full text]
Censorship and Obscenity: Jurisdiction and the Boundaries of Free Expression Neil Boyd
Osgoode Hall Law Journal Article 2 Volume 23, Number 1 (Spring 1985) Censorship and Obscenity: Jurisdiction and the Boundaries of Free Expression Neil Boyd Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj Article Citation Information Boyd, Neil. "Censorship and Obscenity: Jurisdiction and the Boundaries of Free Expression." Osgoode Hall Law Journal 23.1 (1985) : 37-66. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol23/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Osgoode Hall Law Journal by an authorized editor of Osgoode Digital Commons. Censorship and Obscenity: Jurisdiction and the Boundaries of Free Expression Abstract In this study of the Federal Government's control of obscenity through criminal sanctions and its relationship with provincial censorship powers - particularly as practised in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia - Professor Boyd traces the public's evolving attitudes towards the question of what obscenity is. He also provides a brief review of studies concerning the effects of pornography on society. This article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol23/iss1/2 CENSORSHIP AND OBSCENITY: JURISDICTION AND THE BOUNDARIES OF FREE EXPRESSION BY NEIL BOYD* In this study of the Federal Government's control of obscenity through criminal sanctions and its relationship with provincial censorship powers - particularly as practised in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia - Profes- sor Boyd traces the public's evolving attitudes towards the question of what obscenity is. He also provides a brief review of studies concerning the effects of pornography on society.
[Show full text]
The Irony of Free Speech and Liberalism Divided Book Review
Alabama Law Scholarly Commons Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works Faculty Scholarship 1997 The Irony of Free Speech and Liberalism Divided Book Review Paul Horwitz University of Alabama - School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_essays Recommended Citation Paul Horwitz, The Irony of Free Speech and Liberalism Divided Book Review, 43 McGill, L. J. 445 (1997). Available at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_essays/27 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works by an authorized administrator of Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. Citizenship and Speech. A Review of Owen M. Fiss, The Irony of Free Speech and Liberalism Divided Owen M. Fiss, The Irony of Free Speech. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996. Pp. 98 [Hardcover U.S. $18.95; Softcover U.S. $12.95]. Owen M. Fiss, Liberalism Divided: Freedom of Speech and the Many Uses of State Power.Boulder: Westview Press, 1996. Pp. 192 [Hardcover U.S. $65; Softcover U.S. $24]. Reviewed by Paul Horwitz' This review offers a critique of two recent publi- Cette recension jette un regard critique sur deux cations by Owen Fiss which present his views on con- ouvrages r6cents dans lesquels Owen Fiss pr6sente son temporary issues of free speech. Fiss argues that where point de vue sur la libert6 d'expression. Fiss considre contemporary conditions stifle public debate, the state que si certaines circonstances de la vie modeme 6touf- may properly regulate expression; thus, the state may fent le d6bat public, il peut tre appropri6 pour l'Ptat de be a friend of freedom rather than its enemy.
[Show full text]
Canadian Air Power and Censorship During the Kosovo War
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository University of Calgary Press University of Calgary Press Open Access Books 2019-02 Scattering Chaff: Canadian Air Power and Censorship during the Kosovo War Bergen, Bob University of Calgary Press http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109501 book https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca SCATTERING CHAFF: Canadian Air Power and Censorship during the Kosovo War by Bob Bergen ISBN 978-1-77385-031-3 THIS BOOK IS AN OPEN ACCESS E-BOOK. It is an electronic version of a book that can be purchased in physical form through any bookseller or on-line retailer, or from our distributors. Please support this open access publication by requesting that your university purchase a print copy of this book, or by purchasing a copy yourself. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] Cover Art: The artwork on the cover of this book is not open access and falls under traditional copyright provisions; it cannot be reproduced in any way without written permission of the artists and their agents. The cover can be displayed as a complete cover image for the purposes of publicizing this work, but the artwork cannot be extracted from the context of the cover of this specific work without breaching the artist’s copyright. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This open-access work is published under a Creative Commons licence. This means that you are free to copy, distribute, display or perform the work as long as you clearly attribute the work to its authors and publisher, that you do not use this work for any commercial gain in any form, and that you in no way alter, transform, or build on the work outside of its use in normal academic scholarship without our express permission.
[Show full text]