Canada Customs released a detained shipment of anti-war
tapes yesterday, but the group Canadian Journalists For Free Expression is
perturbed that the two-hour film What I Learned About U.S. Foreign Policy, by
American documentary producer Frank Dorrel, was held in the first
place.
"The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's involvement in
vetting political material is a worrisome departure for the federal agency,"
said Joel Ruimy, group executive director.
"In the past, the material they held on to was being
examined for obscenity, or for being outright hate literature. But in this
case, it seems to be a political decision based on a perspective in the
current geopolitical universe." Ruimy said it was "curious" that the tapes
were detained now, after more than 1,000 copies had been shipped earlier
without incident.
Customs said the move earlier this month was a detainment,
not a seizure. "The tapes were detained because they were suspected of being
hate literature, so we reviewed them, then we released them," said
spokesperson Colette Gentes-Hawn. She said many of the thousands of packages
shipped over the border each year are detained, for no more than 30 days.
Those found to be prohibited may be shipped back or abandoned.
The film, highly critical of U.S. foreign policy, was
imported by Global
Outlook magazine , an alternative news service.
Editors Note:
Frank Dorrel's Video What I Learned of
US Foreign Policy has been released from Canada Customs. If you wish
to order it, click here (scroll down)