Supreme Court decision due on Little Sister’s case

On December 15, at 9:45 a.m. (EST), the Supreme Court of Canada will announce its decision in Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium et al. v. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Minister of National Revenue and Attorney General of British Columbia (the Little Sister’s case).

Little Sister’s manager, Janine Fuller and BCCLA vice president, John Dixon will respond to the decision at a press conference at the book store:

Where: Little Sister’s Bookstore, 1238 Davie Street, Vancouver, B.C.

When: Friday, December 15, 2000, 10:00 a.m. (PST)

BACKGROUNDER

Little Sister’s fight began in 1986 when Canada Customs banned The Advocate, a gay magazine, on the basis that it was obscene. Since that time, Little Sister’s Bookstore has been targeted for special scrutiny by Canada Customs. Material written by award winning authors including Jane Rule, Pat Califia, John Preston and Susie Bright have been seized, while the same material was imported by mainstream booksellers without difficulty.

Little Sister’s, with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, challenged Canada Customs head on in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. On October 11th, 1994 the trial began after a long four and a half-year battle just to get to court. The precedent-setting trial took forty court days to be heard and read like a who’s who of writers across North America speaking out against Censorship in Canada. The authors who testified on Little Sister’s behalf included Jane Rule, Pierre Berton, Nino Ricci, Sarah Schulman, Pat Califia and Carol Vance. The authors were joined by many respected academics, legal scholars, booksellers and publishers.

On January 19th, 1996, co-plaintiffs Little Sister’s Bookstore and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association received a partial victory in a landmark declaration from the B.C. Supreme Court. The ruling stated that Canada Customs had used its mandate to censor books and other materials in a manner contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Justice Smith found that “in large part they are the arbitrary and improper consequence of an inadequate and flawed administration of the legislation.”

In the B.C. Court of Appeal the plaintiffs argued that no matter how much effort is made to train and equip Customs officials to assess gay and lesbian books and magazines for obscenity, the system of “prior restraint” will inevitably lead to impermissible restrictions on free speech of Canadians.

In the 2-1 majority at the Court of Appeal, the panel ruled that legislation that empowers Customs officials to prohibit books, magazines, videos, and other materials is justified, despite violating Canada’s free expression rights. The dissenting Judge, Mr. Justice Finch, found that the legislation was unconstitutionally vague and not demonstrably justified in Canada’s free and democratic society.

On March 16, 2000 Little Sister’s and B.C. Civil Liberties had their case heard at the Supreme Court of Canada. With the help of six intervenors—PEN Canada, Canadian AIDS Society, Canadian Council on the Arts, LEAF, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and EGALE—Little Sister’s lawyer Joe Arvay presented the case to the highest court.

For a full history of the case, consult the web site http://www.lsisters.com/court.html. The BCCLA factum in the Supreme Court of Canadahere>>