Annotation:1999: This title was withdrawn from an Edmonton school when the library technician warned the principal that the book was unsuitable. A teacher had chosen the book from the Edmonton Public School Board’s Best of the Best list. Cause of objection: The book deals with Hell. Update: When the teacher appealed the decision, the principal told her that the decision stood and that children could borrow the book from the public library.

Annotation:1998: A parent in Simcoe County (ON) complained to the school board about the presence of this title and Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver in two elementary school libraries. The Cormier novel begins with the description of the vandalizing of a family home and the brutal attack on a 14-year-old girl who lives in the house. Cause of objection: The violence portrayed in the novel makes it unfit for public schools, the parent said. Update: When the board decided to move the book into the secondary schools, the parent remained unsatisfied and wrote a letter to the Ontario minister of education, who said (in the fall of 1999) that the school board should handle the problem. A school board spokesperson said, in turn, that the school’s principal was accountable for any decision.

Annotation:1998: A mother in Transcona (MB) complained to the mayor of Winnipeg about this historical novel for Grades 5 to 8. The story describes the underground railway that brought slaves escaping from the American South to Canada during the 1850s and 1860s. The mayor turned the complaint over to Winnipeg’s race relations committee, which recommended that the book be withdrawn from provincial lists of materials approved for classroom use. The complaint was supported by the Black Educators Association in Manitoba. Cause of objection: The word “nigger” appears 20 times in the novel. The mother said her child was the only black student in her class and felt the novel was unsuitable in such circumstances. Update: The school division’s review committee unanimously recommended that the book be retained for use in the schools. However, the parent continued to demand through the Human Rights Commission that the book be withdrawn from provincial reading lists. In 2002, the book was among three titles targeted by a black parents’ group in Nova Scotia’s Tri-County school district and was temporarily withdrawn from schools.

Annotation:1997: The director of Calgary’s Board of Education removed this book and one other title from a high school library, and asked a review committee to decide whether Grime’s book should remain in the system. At the time, the board was considering a policy aimed at creating more support for gay and lesbian youth in Calgary schools but was under considerable pressure from a parent group that did not want the policy to be adopted. Cause of objection: Although no one had objected to the book, the director felt that the book was inappropriate because of content and language. Update: The book was deemed inappropriate by the review committee and withdrawn from use in the schools.

Annotation:1997: Two parents in the Fort Garry School Division in Winnipeg complained about this book. The title is part of the renowned series that inspired the TV series Little House on the Prairie. Cause of objection: The classic children’s book, based on tales of the settlers in the American West, was said to contain several references offensive to aboriginals. But school superintendent Henry Izatt said: “Stories like this are an important part of our history on this continent. Simply eradicating them from shelves does not seem to be the answer.” Update: A committee of teachers, parents, and other members of the community prepared to examine the complaint and report back to the administration, but in the meantime the complaint was withdrawn.

Annotation:1996: An Alberta MLA, Julius Yankowksi, called for the banning of the book after reading a negative review by Toronto journalist Michael Coren. Both men called for the withdrawal of provincial and federal government grants for the publisher, Red Deer Press. Cause of objection: Coren said the novel was no more than hate literature against men. The story, aimed at readers 10 to 12 years of age, is an account of the abduction of three children by their estranged father. Update: By the fall of 1999, the novel had sold 12,000 copies, and no further attempt had been made to ban the book or cut government grants to Red Deer Press.

Annotation:1995: Before the Commission des états généraux sur l’éducation (Estates General of Education Commission), the president of the Association des parents catholiques du Québec (Association of Catholic Parents of Quebec) denounced these two books for youngsters, written by a multiple prize-winner, as being “unacceptable” and “borderline pornographic.” She asked the Ministry of Education to provide “better control over the selection of books found in libraries.” The news media described the recommendation as a return to blacklisting and noted that the APCQ exerted a strong influence over the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal (Catholic School Board of Montreal). The president of the school board said that APCQ influence would not affect the schools since Ani Croche was no longer on the list recommended by its Bureau of Teaching Materials and that La course à l’amour had not been on that list since 1990.

Annotation:1993: A parent group in Leeds-Grenville County (ON) wanted this fantasy novel about dragons and magic removed from the Linklater-Macdonald Public School Library. Cause of objection: One complainant said the book hints at occultism and “New Age religion.” Update: A review committee set up by the board recommended that the book remain in the library.

Annotation:1993: A shipment of books that included these two titles was detained by Canada Customs. Dworkin is a noted feminist writer opposed to pornography. The Supreme Court of Canada based its landmark Butler decision on obscenity, at least in part, on the works of this U.S. feminist. Ironically, Dworkin’s books were among those detained by Customs as a result of conflicting interpretations of the court’s ruling. Update: Both books were eventually released as a result of media coverage but without the filing of an appeal.

Annotation:1992: Kamloops (BC) School Board removed this title temporarily from its libraries. Cause of objection: Potentially offensive treatment of native peoples. Update:The books were replaced, but the title is included on a roster of challenged materials for teacher information.

Annotation:1992: The book, based on a three-part TV series, was targeted by Canadian veterans’ organizations and was discussed in the hearings of the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs. Veterans demanded that the TV production be withdrawn from distribution and that the book be pulled from libraries. Cause of objection: The TV series and the book raised questions about Canada’s military participation in the Second World War. Update: In 1993, a group of veterans known as the Bomber Harris Trust launched a $500-million class action suit against those connected with the TV production and the two authors of the book. The action was thrown out of court.

Annotation:1991: A Quebec court’s injunction suspended for one week the sale and distribution of this account of the 1990 clash between Mohawks and soldiers at Oka. Cause of objection: Two native women complained that they had been misquoted and defamed by the writer. Update: The ban was lifted by a Quebec Superior Court judge who said he could see no evidence of either charge.

Annotation:1990: This book about goings-on in Buckingham Palace was banned worldwide by a British court. T.C. Sobey is a Canadian. Update: It became a best-seller in the United States and Canada.

Annotation:1990: One of several books challenged by a parent group in Essex County (ON). Update:None of the books were withdrawn from the high school reading list as a result of the protest.