News

The Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom has named Ken Rubin, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Free Expression, as its 2018-19 recipient of the Spencer Moore Award for Lifetime Contributions in pursuit of press freedom and freedom of information.  In its announcement, the CCWPF recognized Rubin as “a tireless advocate for freedom of expression. He has helped promote improvements in freedom of information and privacy protection legislation in Canada, including amending the federal access act to penalize officials for record alteration violations.”

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   On April 1, 2019, Quebec’s Superior Court of Justice began to hear the dispute between Québecor and the Journal de Mourréal. Québecor publishes Le Journal de Montréal, a newspaper. The Journal de Mourréal is a satirical website. Québecor argues that the Journal de Mourréal is guilty of trademark infringement.

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   On March 27, 2019, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled on a dispute between Morgane Oger and William Whatcott. The tribunal ruled that Whatcott, a Christian activist, had discriminated against Oger, a transgender activist and former B.C. NDP candidate, when Whatcott distributed a leaflet about Oger’s sexuality during the provincial election in 2017.

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   On March 14, 2019, police in Quebec raided the home of author Yvan Godbout and the office of publisher Nycolas Doucet. The police confiscated copies of Mr. Godbout’s horror novel Hansel et Gretel.

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   On February 18, 2019, just before Freedom to Read Week, a panel of self-described left-wing artists, academics and activists participated in a panel discussion at the Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. The title of the event: Freedom of Speech in the Arts: Voices from the Left.

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carter of the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has provided two new lists of imported publications that the CBSA detained in the second half of 2018. The CBSA detained these publications because they were suspected of violating the legal bans on hate propaganda or obscenity.