Talk:Ontario Film Review Board

Concerning the Ban of Not a Love Story
New to editing Wikipedia, so let me know if I am out of line here. Suggestions appreciated.

The article notes "Not a Love Story" was banned, based on a media report. This is a widely circulated story. Banning implies that the Board viewed the film, and pronounced it unacceptable. In fact the Board never viewed the film. It was submitted to the Board for review by the Ontario Film and Video Appreciation Society (OFAVAS), a group of artists, as a test case. The Board refused to view the film. This is not the same as a refusal to certify as done in some jurisdictions - there was never any question of the refusal to view affecting distribution, as no one in Ontario was actually planning to exhibit the film publicly.

OFAVAS took the Board to court, challenging the refusal to view the film, as well as the ratings on three other films, on constitutional grounds. The court ruled that the Board did not violate the constitution as "Not a Love Story" had not been submitted for commercial distribution, and that the Board was not obligated to perform hypothetical reviews. The judge noted "the applicants were seeking permission to show a film they did not own and which they had no right to exhibit." The full details are in the court ruling, which I believe is fully cited as "Ontario Film and Video Appreciation Society v. Ontario Board of Censors (1983), 41 O.R. (2d) 583, 147 D.L.R. (3d) 58, 34 C.R. (3d) 73 (Div. Ct.); affirmed (1984), 45 O.R. (2d) 80, 2 O.A.C. 388, 5 D.L.R. (4th) 766 (C.A.)"

So, it seems misleading to perpetuate the notion that the Board banned the film. Ideally, the article could mention both the myth and the court case...but then it might also be wise to include the other films, the outcome of the court case (OFAVAS won on one of the four films), and so on. thoughts? thanks, --Trcovell (talk) 22:17, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Updated the page to reflect facts above. Trcovell (talk) 17:44, 1 October 2012 (UTC)