BRITISH COLUMBIA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.

‘The BCLA Executive is opposed to the general climate of censorship that
is on the increase in Canada.

The BCLA is a provincial non-profit organization representing 700
librarians, information specialists, and others interested in the
development of high standard library service.

We are opposed to censorship and committed to the defense of intellectual
freedom, being convinced that censorship deprives the public of “access
to all expressions of knowledge and intellectual activity" as embodied in
the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Bill C-54 will have a serious impact on the social climate in Canada as a
result of the sweeping definition of pornography including:

- criminalizing and stigmatizing public representation of sexual
conduct which is both lawful and positive

- violating current consensus that everyone has right to private
viewing of sexually explicit material

- failing to distinguish between healthy sexuality and sexual
exploitation, abuse, and violence

- failing to distinguish between children and adolescents

- criminalizing/stigmatizing lawful sexual conduct for adolescents
at certain ages under 18

- proposing criminal sanctions against depicting or describing
someone as under 18, and when someone simply "appears" to be under
18
It also sanctions against exercise of free speech. For example:
- authors/artists dealing with children and adolescents in a sexual

context, or with sexual violence against women would be subject to
criminal charges

feoed

British Columbia Library Association, #300 - 3665 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C. VSR 5W2 Telephone: 430-6010 | 2.