Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium is a bookstore in Vancouver, British Columbia, that specializes in literature and materials for the LGBTQ+ community, that being the Lesbian Gay Bi Trans and Queer plus, which was founded by Bruce Smyth and Jim Deva in 1983 with former manager Janine Fuller and now current manager Don Wilson. The bookstore faced repeated seizures of imported materials by Canadian customs officials, who deemed some of the materials to be “obscene” under the Customs Act, which is defined as “offensive or disgusting by accepted standards of morality and decency.” The case challenged the constitutionality of the Customs Act provisions used to justify the seizures. The bookstore since its inception has imported 90% of its material …show more content…
The bookstore claimed that the same or similar heterosexual materials were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny or seizure, and indicated a biased application of the law. The bookstore also argued it was a violation of Charter Rights, the bookstore argued that the actions of the customs officials violated Section 2(b) (freedom of expression), which as quoted from the government of Canada is: 2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication, and Section 15 (equality rights)(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. They argued that the materials in question were not obscene and that their seizure constituted an unjustifiable infringement on their rights. They also used expert testimonies, presenting expert testimonies including activists who discussed the importance of LGBTQ+ literature and the negative impact of censorship on the
319(2) of the criminal code lead to the infringement of his rights of freedom of speech as guaranteed by s. 2(b). However, his appeal got denied and he was anyways tried and convicted. It was after this that he went to the Court of Appeal of Canada who decided that his freedom of speech is indeed being suppressed by the s. 319(2) of the criminal code and thus the case was further sent up to the Supreme Court of Canada. The question to be answered by the Supreme Court here was that whether or not his freedom of speech infringed by the s. 319(2) and if so, how can it be protected by s. 1 of the
In “The Art Room,” by Shara McCallum, the author is telling a story about her childhood. McCallum and her sisters did not grow up with a lot of money so they had to make due with what they had. “Because we had not chalk or pastels, no toad, forest, or morning-grass slats of paper, we had no color for creatures. So we squatted and sprang, squatted and sprang.” They used their imagination and their bodies to create music and art. The tone of this poem is reminiscent and whimsical, the theme is about how even if you do not have a lot of money you can still have fun.
The respondents, including Steven Pico, Jacqueline Gold, Glenn Yarris, Russell Rieger (students at Island Trees High School), and Paul Sochinski (student at Island Trees Memorial), argued that banning the books from school libraries violated their first amendment rights. Therefore, the respondents took the case to court (I...
The issues I choose to talk is the “Canadian Magazine dispute”. I will try to answer the questions one by one.
The case, R. v. Keegstra, constructs a framework concerning whether the freedom of expression should be upheld in a democratic society, even wh...
Facts of the Case: In 2008, Samantha Elauf applied for a job at Abercrombie & Fitch, Inc., who as part of their “Look Policy” prohibit the use of caps. Elauf, as part of her religious practice, wore a headscarf to the interview. She was interviewed by assistant manager Heather Cooke, who gave her a score that qualified her to be hired. Cooke, however, was worried that Elauf’s headscarf was against the store’s policy and called her district manager Randall Johnson. She informed Johnson of her belief that Elauf wore her headscarf because of her religion, and Johnson replied that headwear whether it was religious or not violated the “Look Policy” of the store. Elauf with the help of the EEOC sued Abercrombie on the grounds of religious discrimination. The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an agency established by the government of the United States that imposes federal laws that make it
Many situations present the important synchronization of internal versus external negotiations. Many individuals have studied how each side in the negotiation is able to manage the internal opposition to agreements being negotiated. This can also be known as “on the table”, or what exactly is on the line in a heated argument. Each individual involve in an argument has a particular position to be managed, and often times own personal interests are widely expressed. This paper will expand upon the case of Fischer collecting needed funds from Smith with proposals and ideas for a manageable negotiation.
Everyone has the right to free expression, and this is what Rosenblatt is trying to get across. The necessity of freedom of expression and
Eudora Welty, the author of 'The Little Store,' is also the narrator in her story. Upon looking back at her childhood, Eudora realized she was a creative little girl who liked to read and to write. She had the naivety of a child. The town where I was born is only 150 miles from where Eudora was raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Therefore, I really enjoyed this story because I really felt like I could relate to it. West Point, where I was born, resembles Jackson a great deal. We had a little store that was in town and we always felt safe to walk there alone. We also knew everyone on the block, just as Eudora did.
What core competencies do you think the company has and what is needed to exploit opportunity and counter threats.
The legislation aspires to prohibit public-sector employees from wearing “objects such as headgear, clothing, jewelry or other religious affiliation”. These objects include items such as kippahs, turbans, hijabs, and large crucifixes. This ban would be intended to apply to all civil servants, including individuals such as teachers, doctors, nurses and police offiercers (Jake Flanagin, The Atlantic). At a hearing for Bill 60, Michelle Blanc, who is a transgender woman, spoke in support of the Bill, appealing to Quebecers' pro-LGBT feelings. “When I see a veil, the mental image I have is all of the gays who were hung high and low in the public square... in certain Arab countries”, Blanc had stated. Although same-sex relationships and the importance of being accepting of all religions have been two of the most controversial and highly debated topics, it is definitely not the right step to attack the Muslim religion and specific Arab countries in an attempt to defend Bill 60. Much like it is innapropriate to accuse the LGBT community of being anti-religion, it is equally innapropriate to accuse an entire religion for the horrible act of the hanging of gays in certain Arab countries. Not all gays are
Censoring school books in libraries can often lead to censorship of our basic freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. In some cases, a minority ends up dictating the majority in censorship
During the 1950's there was a social movement against the pornography industry in Canada. Religious and Feminist groups were concerned about the harmful effects regarding the danger and degradation of women. The opposition to this movement was that pornography was a freedom of expression and sexual orientation. This brought about many political debates and controversies about what is ethically right and what is a personal freedom. This created many problems for the Canadian government on how to legislate pornography and up hold the Common Rights of Canada.
Freedom of speech cannot be considered an absolute freedom, and even society and the legal system recognize the boundaries or general situations where the speech should not be protected. Along with rights comes civil responsib...
Dunnes Stores is an indigenous, family owned Irish Company. The Company is a retailer in both the food and textile market who work around the principle of providing competitive prices, high quality products and a vast variety of choices. The company’s motto of “Better Value” looks to draw in all these principles together.