Judge: Canadian Film Censorship Illegal

An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the province’s practice of requiring all films to be submitted to a censor board for approval is illegal under Canada’s Charter of Rights & Freedoms. In his ruling, the judge said that the government had provided “no satisfactory explanation why prior approval of films to be shown to the public at large was required,” especially since similar screening processes are not required for film festivals and other “limited audience” screenings.