University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections (Winnipeg Tribune Collection, PC 18, 2755, 18-2096-30).
Young Students Reading in a Classroom, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 6 February 1973.
Literacy and the ability to engage in unrestricted critical enquiry are vital to the development of a free and democratic citizenry. This teacher is exposing her students to the wonders of reading and intellectual curiosity.
Canadians value the free expression of ideas. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines in law the fundamental liberties associated with freedom of expression. These include
- freedom of conscience and the right to worship at the church of our choice;
- freedom to hold thoughts and express opinions, including freedom of the press, without fear of being imprisoned;
- freedom to associate with any people we choose; and
- freedom to gather together peacefully with other people.
Such freedoms are unheard of in many countries, where citizens fear censorship, unjust arrest and imprisonment, and the suppression of ideas and religious practices.
Corbis (Image ID: AU001543). Available online at www.corbis.com/ Austrian Archives, [16 February 2000].
Nazi Book Burning, Berlin, Germany, 10 May 1933.
These Berliners hurl books that the Nazi regime considered to be "un-German" into a large bonfire. This book burning illustrates the Nazi government's censorship of ideas and intolerance of differing opinions. The Nazi regime also ruthlessly persecuted some minorities and attempted to kill all Jews.
