A few weeks ago, loonie evangelical, Charles McVety, successfuly pressured the federal cabinet ministers and PMO officials to deny tax credits to productions deemed too controversial or offensive now it’s The City of Vancouver’s turn to cave to bible thumpers’ demands.

A piece of public art that is judged controversial because it’s depicting an inverted church will soon be removed from Harbour Green Park in downtown Vancouver. Since centuries artists had to put up with religious censorship and they still do in countries such as Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Although an offer was made to donate the piece to the city on a long-term loan, Weaving said Wednesday: “We’re recommending it come out in part because of the mixed public responses.” In other words some Christians call it sacrilegious. Hey Ms. Weaving, what about the separation of church and government. When was it decided that municipal bodies are supposed to cave to religious demands. What about the artist rights? What about his rights to communicate whatever he feels? Freedom of expression and speech…wasn’t that what Canada was founded on?

What if a Muslim tells you that because you are woman you are unfit for the position you hold as the Vancouver park board arts coordinator, will you quit?

I’m extremely disappointed in the Vancouver art community for not standing up for artists rights. Since when public art is inclined to bend to the will of religious censorship? Is it since backward “idiots” are working for the park board?

Never mind, when provocative art comes around, there will always be some one to get their panties in a bunch and bitch to no end about how offensive it is to them.

Although an offer was made to donate the piece to the city on a long-term loan, Weaving said Wednesday: “We’re recommending it come out in part because of the mixed public responses.”
That includes, she said, concern from area residents that the seven-metre-high piece blocks view corridors and takes too much of a small patch of green space.
“Some people have also contacted us to say that they feel the subject matter isn’t appropriate,” said Weaving. [The Vancouver Sun]

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Freedom of the press is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of newspaper companies, internet sites such as blogs, radio and television stations, and their published or broadcasted reporting.

It appears that, here in Canada, freedom of the press is constantly challenged because it is not an “absolute right”. The Province published an article on the subject here is a snippet:

“Press freedom, however, is not an absolute right. And it is constantly under attack from government agencies, including human-rights commissions and the courts themselves.
Indeed, The Province spends thousands of dollars a year fighting court-imposed publication bans and other gag orders in cases involving everyone from killer Willie Pickton to the Hells Angels.
Our newspaper has also battled for public access to documents about everything from B.C.
legal-aid billings to TransLink rail-track purchases.” [The Province]

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