ATTENTION!



Dear Patrons,

On December 9th the Ontario Liberals tabled Bill 158 “An Act to Replace the Theatres Act and to amend other Acts in Respect of Film” in response to Glad Day Bookshop’s successful constitutional challenge of our conviction under the Theatres Act on April 30th this year.


The response from the press was misleading, declaring that the OFRB are now out of the censorship business. Fortunately The Globe and Mail consulted our lawyer Frank Addario. In his opinion Bill 158 is “neither progressive nor courageous”.


Our tentative position on Bill 158 is:
- It lets the censors raid businesses without a warrant.
- It expands the definition of film to include video games, ignoring that industry’s rating system.
- It allows censoring officials to establish fee schedules for classification of all film. Presently the fees for a single film are as much as $500.
- It limits your choice. It will put pressure on your favorite independent bookshops, video rental & other stores. Some may even be forced to go out of business.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?



Post a letter to The Minster of Business and Consumer Services, The Honorable J. Watson, to protest the proposed bill in its present state, and ask them to address the real issues at question:


- The new Bill continues a system of unjustified prior restraint.
- If the fees remain unchanged, the legislation will de facto censor many queer, independent and small market films, by making them too expensive to sell or distribute in Ontario.
- Passing this Bill will likely trigger more constitutional challenges that will cost YOU, the taxpayer a small fortune!

email: jwatson.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

address:
The Honorable J. Watson
Ministry of Consumer and Business Services
Eaton Tower, 35th Floor, 250 Yonge St
Toronto Ont., M5B 2N5

To read the proposed Bill, go to:
www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/38_Parliament/Session1/b158_e.htm

P.S. Also read coverage in eye Dec.23/04, p.13
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_12.23.04/city/ofrb.html

XTRA Dec.23, p.11
http://xtra.ca/site/toronto2/news/body7.shtm

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reviews
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April 30th, 2004

GLAD DAY BOOKSHOP WINS APPEAL AGAINST THE ONTARIO FILM REVIEW BOARD [OFRB]


Since 2001, Glad Day Bookshop has been involved in a constitutional challenge against the Ontario Film Review Board. On April 30, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of Glad Day Bookshop's appeal. This ruling has the potential to force the province of Ontario to change the Theatres Act, provided they do not appeal.

The court battle has cost the store around $100 000.

Visit www.gladdaybookshop.com/ofrb to read the ruling and other documents regarding our challenge.

Below are some recent articles:

Big win for Glad Day
CENSORSHIP / Ontario Supreme Court judge rules the Ontario Film Review Board is one censor too many

story by Darren Cooney / Xtra! May 13 2004

Scrap the censor board
Editorial / eye - 05.13.04

Judge rules that Theatres Act violates Charter
By JAMES ADAMS
From Saturday's Globe and Mail, May. 1, 2004

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : 4/01/03

CUSTOMS TARGETS TORONTO LESBIAN & GAY BOOKSTORE AGAIN

Canada Customs nearly destroyed a carton of art books en route to Toronto’s only lesbian and gay bookstore, Glad Day Bookshop. The books are all published by Germany’s longtime gay publisher Bruno Gmunder Verlag. The carton – labelled with Customs tape - was doused in oil, with all the packing material removed, thereby damaging all enclosed books. No notice has been received from Customs regarding the opening of this carton or damage done.

As is the norm, Glad Day Bookshop is not entitled to any compensation from Customs for the damaged books, worth of over $1000 retail. In today’s retail climate, such a loss can only be devastating for the small, independent bookstore. Such a callous disregard for the bookstore, and the books themselves, are only typical of the kind of treatment that was outlawed by the Supreme Court.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court had ruled in a case involving Vancouver’s Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium and Canada Customs. The Court found that Customs had deliberately targetted lesbian and gay bookstores. Unfortunately, Little Sister’s is back in court again against Customs, for their illegitimate practice of censoring lesbian and gay literature.

Unlike Little Sister’s, however, Glad Day Bookshop is not in a financial position to take Customs to court over it’s loss. The bookstore has already launched an appeal, in its constitutional challenge against the Ontario censor board. In that case, the Ontario Film Review Board had charged the store with one count of Distributing an Unapproved Film, contrary to Section 37(1) of the Theatres Act.