I read an articles or a few articles about a closed lgbt bookshop called little sisters that closed in 2007 or 08 after abandoning a legal battle where a lot of their books were taken by the government and a lot of them were considered indecent by the canadian government or something. Also some books by a queer author featuring bdsm was taken from the bookstore back then. This tumblr censureship thing reminds me of that. Do we have laws banning bdsm and erotica here in canada or something?

hrefnatheravenqueen:

allthecanadianpolitics:

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First things first, BDSM isn’t banned in Canada. However, it emerged during the Jian Gomeshi trial that the Crown considers that there is a limit to what can be considered consensual sexual acts. IIRC the courts judged that individuals cannot consent to being seriously harmed (Gomeshi’s defense was that his victims consented to his acts) and that there is a point at which BDSM practices may be considered to turn into assault. I’m not too sure on the specifics or the factors taken into consideration, but I think that’s the argument.

The story about books being confiscated by authorities has to do with the laws regarding the importation of goods into Canada, such as books, movies, etc. that are considered obscene. CBSA have rights to overrule certain sections of the charter of rights and freedoms when it comes to preventing obscene material from entering the country. Of course, the CBSA has to prove the validity of its claim in court.

You can read up about that here (the memorandum specifically cites the case you mention as part of its service standard) :

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d9/d9-1-1-eng.html

The memorandum contains sections that describe the standards tests to determine what is or isn’t considered obscene in Canada.

I hope that helps.