The right to know

At the heart of this complaint is the refusal of the Board of the Greater Victoria Public Library (the “Library”) to put in writing its expectations respecting the use of meeting rooms. [...] In 1998, the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island (the “Federation”) made a complaint to this Office about the refusal of the Board of the Greater Victoria Public Library (the “Library”) to amend the policy that regulates the use of the library facilities. [...] The complaint related to the Library’s decision to allow a group, which the Federation considered to be an organization dedicated to the promotion of hatred, to use a meeting room at the Juan de Fuca Public Library. [...] On May 15, 1998, three representatives of the Federation met with three representatives of the Library Board to discuss the Federation’s concerns about the planned meeting of the group in question at the Juan de Fuca Library. [...] Subsequently, the Federation wrote to the Library reiterating its concerns and requesting that the Library amend clause No.10 of the Meeting Room Policy, which reads: The library will not knowingly permit any individual or groups to use its facilities in contravention of the Criminal Code of Canada.