While most of us would like to believe that Canadians have always stood for the freedom of expression that we enjoy today, the facts tell a different story, particularly with regards to the control of print media. Beginning in the seventeenth century, with the banning of Molière’s Tartuffe in Quebec City, the struggle for literary expression has been ongoing. The works of Balzac, James Joyce, Margaret Laurence, and Margaret Atwood have each seen legal and community challenges in Canada, as have titles by some rather more surprising authors such as Morley Callaghan and W.O. Mitchell.
Alberta
Approved
in Freedom of Expression and Democratic Values
Throughout history, art has been censored for challenging standards of decency, propriety and good taste. That history of censorship continues in Canada today. What are the reasons and what are the costs? Join three artists who explore these questions and discuss current examples.
Alberta
Approved
in Representation and Whose Stories Get Told
A Vernon mural artist is using artwork to tell the stories of a dark chapter of Canada's past, the internment of thousands of Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War.
Alberta
Approved
in Media Literacy: Engaging with Challenging Art
Are you really against censorship, or do you preach "free speech for me, but not for thee" (https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780... In this talk, William Harris explores the shifting reasons for the censorship of Francis
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) opens “The Uncensored Library” – Within a computer game. In many countries, free information is hard to access. Blogs, newspapers and websites are censored but Minecraft is still accessible. RSF used this backdoor to build “The Uncensored Library". A library filled with books, containing articles that were censored in their country of origin. These articles are now available again for young people around the world – hidden from government surveillance technology inside a computer game.
Too often, discussions of Indigenous peoples in Canada focus primarily on problems—historical injustices, ongoing disparities, challenges facing communities. While these topics deserve serious attention, they tell only part of the story. Indigenous peoples are not defined by the harms done to them but by their own agency, creativity, and contribution. This space celebrates Indigenous strength, culture, and achievement.
Welcome to this space of learning and dialogue about Indigenous peoples in Canada. Whether you are Indigenous, a newcomer to Canada, or a settler whose family has been here for generations, you are invited to approach these topics with openness, humility, and a willingness to learn.
A Losing Game: Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation in Canada
What happens when candidates enter elections knowing they cannot win? When the system itself determines outcomes before campaigns begin? The National Film Board documentary A Losing Game (2025) follows three candidates in Quebec's 2022 provincial election—each facing near-certain defeat—to expose the structural barriers that shape who can succeed in Canadian politics and who is systematically excluded.
In 1996, the last residential school in Canada was closed down, bringing to light horrifying stories about the methods used to sever indigenous children from the influence of their families and to assimilate them into the dominant "Canadian" culture.
Behind every immigration statistic is a story: of hope, courage, fear, and the search for home. Stories of arrival and belonging remind us that integration is more than paperwork or policy—it’s deeply personal. These stories reveal the challenges, the triumphs, the moments of loneliness and joy, and the small acts of welcome that turn strangers into neighbours and a country into a home.
