Heritage Minister James Moore has instructed the National Library and Archives to screen a controversial documentary about Iran after Tuesday night’s screening was cancelled because of the threat of protest.
A hazardous materials team and emergency crews responded to a threat at the library Tuesday night, just hours before Iranium was going to be shown. The two suspicious envelopes in the building were deemed not dangerous.
“The principle of free speech is one of the cornerstones of our democracy,” said a statement from Moore’s office. “Minister Moore took action as soon as he heard that the film was cancelled. The minister has instructed the Library and Archives to honour their commitment to show the film, while taking all appropriate steps to ensure security. Canada does not accept attempts from the Iranian Embassy to dictate what films will, and will not be shown in Canada.”
The website for the Free Thinking Film Society, which arranged the screening, says Iranium documents “the regime’s abusive treatment of their once proud citizenry, and will chronicle the regime’s use of terror proxies abroad to inflict deadly messages on their self-described enemies.”
Library and Archives Canada spokesperson Pauline Portelance told the Ottawa Citizen that the Iranian embassy sent a letter to the library over the weekend requesting that the screening be cancelled, a request she says was denied.
Fred Litwin, president of the Free Thinking Film Society, says he received a call around 4 p.m. Tuesday saying the screening had been cancelled because of threats of protest from the public.
When he arrived on the scene around 5:15 p.m., Litwin says he saw no protestors but noted that the building was being closed and that employees were sent home.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took the opportunity to criticize the cancellation, saying on Twitter Tuesday evening that “The cancellation of tonight’s screening of Iranium is outrageous.”
Litwin said he was also outraged and that he couldn’t believe that this sort of film couldn’t be shown in Canada’s capital city.
“This would be bad if it happened in Tehran but this is Ottawa.”