Censorship in Canada?
(with contributions from Jack Walton)
One of the most controversial aspects of PCC is its name. Critics of the project often argue that the stories in our top ten under-reported stories were not 'censored,' they were simply rejected in favour of other stories, stories deemed more deserving of news attention. Censorship tends to be understood as explicit state control of information (such as the publication ban of the Homolka trial and the seizure by Canada Customs of publications on their way to Little Sisters' Book and Art Emporium). If this narrower definition of censorship is applied, the stories in our top ten list were not censored. But, PCC applies a broader definition of 'censorship,' including other, non-state interventions and constraints that journalists and editors face every day. In the first part of this chapter we explore various forms of censorship, including a review of incidents from 1994. We consider three types of censorship that affected the news Canadians received in 1994: state sanctioned censorship, self-censorship and structural censorship. In the second section, drawing on the approach taken by Project Censored-USA, we more clearly map out our interpretation of the notion of censorship, how we have defined it for the purposes of this project.