 |
|
|
Rules Against Customs Censors |
|
By Rex Wockner International News Report
Vancouver's Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium suffered
"excessive and unnecessary prejudice" from Customs Canada
officers who repeatedly seized gay erotica sent to the store, the
Canadian Supreme Court ruled December 15.
The court rewrote Customs law to switch the burden of proof in obscenity cases from the importer to the government. "This changes in our view utterly the relationship of Canada to expression materials," John Dixon of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association told the Canadian Press wire service. "From now on, it will be almost impossible to prove a book -- the text -- is obscene. That is an enormous ratchet forward." Little Sisters manager Janin Fuller called the ruling an "incredible indictment" against Customs' "unscrutinized tyranny at the border."
|
