Calgary legion cancels reading event over censorship concerns

Cancelling plans in celebration of Freedom to Read week, as a Calgary legion pulls the plug on a scheduled event, with some calling the move shocking and hypocritical.

Tucked away in the Calgary community of Kensington is Royal Canadian Legion No. 264. Since 1953, this north Calgary branch has supported veterans, hosted Remembrance Day ceremonies, sponsored youth programs, and, up until recently, hosted reading events.

Monday, however, the legion cancelled a scheduled reading event to the surprise of Ashley Frerichs of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, who was both shocked and disappointed.

Specifically, the planned reading of 2SLGBTQIA+ themed books that were affected by Alberta’s school policy.

“We were not keeping it a secret what we were doing. When we booked the event, it was always a freedom to read event; we were always going to read from banned books,” Frerichs told CityNews.

She suggests the cancellation was in reference to the Alberta government’s controversial school library book restrictions, implementing new standards for school libraries to remove materials containing explicit visual depictions of sexual acts.

“They have the right to refuse an event in their space, I totally understand that … I’ve had events and been to events at legions before, so I was shocked,” she said.

Feb. 15, just eight days before the event, Frerichs received the notice of cancellation from the legion that says in part,”…aspects of the event conflict with Legion policy, which requires alignment with current government regulations and guidelines.”

CityNews also did some digging and found two drag events, “Drag me to bingo” and “Sleigh the Runway,” both coincidentally held at the same legion that cancelled Monday’s book reading event.

Scrambling to find a new venue, the group was able to secure a spot at cSPACE.

“We knew it was for freedom to read because we were going to attend anyway…so once they told us they were in a bind, it was a no-brainer for us,” said Precious de Leon, community engagement with the Alexandra Writers Centre Society.

Hayley Banyard, the cSPACE marketing manager, says, “I think it is important as a member of the community and an organization that wants to be inclusive is to take a look at the type of policies you have and ensure that you are being welcoming and inclusive to all types of people.”

CityNews asked Kensington Legion 264 numerous times for comment, but it did not get a response in time for publication.

Freedom to Read Week continues now through Feb. 28, billed as a time to reflect on the importance of intellectual freedom and the right to access information.