Freedom to Read Week a reminder not to be complacent about intellectual freedoms
February 22, 2023
Elise Gravel knew her book Pink, Blue, and You! was going to be challenged in the U.S. as soon as it was published.
Elise Gravel knew her book Pink, Blue, and You! was going to be challenged in the U.S. as soon as it was published.
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to reflect on, and reaffirm, their commitment to intellectual freedom – a right that is guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The freedom to read is foundational to independent thought, the pursuit of knowledge, and to democratic principles Listed under “February Proclamations”: …
“If I weren’t living through it, I wouldn’t believe it’s happening,” one parent, who has worked as a substitute teacher, said. https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-south/why-some-florida-schools-are-removing-books-from-their-libraries
Parents in a U.S. town have asked their local library to take a Quebec author’s children’s book about sexual and gender diversity off the shelves, and that author says she’s worried that a climate of intolerance is contributing to the censorship and marginalization of LGBTQ realities. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/children-book-gender-sex-library-quebec-1.6733566
Supporters of an inclusive reading event in Coquitlam, B.C., on Saturday were the latest to shout down a small group of protesters who have been targeting the events. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/drag-queen-story-hour-coquitlam-protest-1.6714583
PEN America has identified the 50 books that were most frequently challenged or banned in the 2021–22 school year. CBS News briefly profiles each book (and links to PEN America’s report): https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-banned-books-in-america/
Canadian writers, publishers and literary figures have doubled down on the right to freedom of thought and expression following the August 12 attack on award-winning author Salman Rushdie. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-literary-reaction-salman-rushdie-attack-1.6550670
In Ottawa, the federal Liberal government’s group of 12 experts whoconsidered ways and means of limiting harms on the internet finished theirmeetings and released their findings this summer. The Expert Advisory Group on Online Safety concluded their 10 meetings onJune 10, 2022, and released their findings on July 8, 2022. The federal Liberal government is …
The Durham District School removed ‘Louis Riel: Le Pays Improbable’ by Andre Leblanc and ‘Sisters of the Wolf’ by Patricia Miller-Schroeder in April 2022, the Toronto Star reports. The DDSB reversed their decision and returned all three texts to shelves later that month. https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/news/2022/05/05/along-with-the-great-bear-these-are-the-other-two-books-the-ddsb-pulled-from-school-libraries.html
The DDSB released a statement outlining their decision to return ‘The Great Bear’ to library circulation following discussions with the local Indigenous community. https://www.thestar.com/local-oshawa/news/2022/04/27/the-great-bear-is-back-durham-school-board-returns-david-a-robertson-s-book-to-school-libraries.html