PEN Canada celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression and aids writers in peril.
PEN Canada today commended the Government of Canada for removing more controversial parts of Bill C-63, particularly the heavy-handed hate speech penalties. The government heeded concerns expressed by a wide …
by Brendan de Caires (Executive Director, PEN Canada) Twenty years ago, Florian von Donnersmarck’s dark film “The Lives of Others” showed how easily a nation state – in the form …
This preliminary response was originally published on March 29, 2024 in PEN Canada’s monthly newsletter, as part of the Grace Westcott’s President’s Message. Subscribe to get monthly updates sent to …
By Jennifer Lanthier A dramatic rise in book challenges and book bans targeting what are often called “diverse books” in children’s literature is sweeping North America. While the bans are …
PEN Canada condemns the abrupt cancellation of invitations to three anti-Black racism advocates scheduled to appear at a January 15 presentation to the law clerks of the Supreme Court of …
The RCMP must be held accountable for their repeated violations of the rights of media in Canada. As the minister responsible for their oversight, we demand that you take immediate steps to investigate and correct the RCMP’s actions and to ensure that going forward, journalists’ right to report will be protected in this country.
The journalist and legal scholar Amy Lai has been awarded the 2021 PEN Canada/Ken Filkow Prize for courageously reporting on the “threats faced by both individuals and democratic institutions” in her native Hong Kong, and for ground-breaking scholarship on freedom of expression.
PEN Canada condemns the Ontario government’s use of the Notwithstanding Clause to impose restrictions on third-party political advertising for a full twelve months before a provincial election.
PEN Canada has successfully intervened before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the Canadian Constitution Foundation’s (CCF) challenge to the constitutionality of section 91(1) of the Canada Elections Act.
Writer, artist and environmental activist Franke James will receive the inaugural PEN Canada/Ken Filkow Prize at PEN Canada’s Ideas in Dialogue event, June 2.