Calgary Legion Cancels Book Ban Event: When 'Apolitical' Becomes Political

CALGARY, AB — As reported by CBC Calgary, Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 285 cancelled an event organized by PEN Canada that was scheduled to feature Giller Prize-winning author Suzette Mayr discussing banned books during Freedom to Read Week. The legion cited its policy as an "apolitical organization that does not host petitions, or political actions of this nature."

But here's the friction: cancelling a conversation about censorship is itself a statement about censorship.

Freedom to Read Week—running February 18-24, 2026—exists precisely because the act of deciding which books belong on shelves has always been political, whether institutions admit it or not. PEN Canada, the writers' advocacy group that organized the event, built its programming around authors like Mayr, whose 2022 Giller win for The Sleeping Car Porter brought national attention to stories that challenge dominant narratives. These aren't fringe voices. They're award-winning Canadian artists whose work confronts uncomfortable histories—exactly the kind of material that gets challenged in libraries and schools.

The legion's position raises a question Calgary community groups now face: What counts as "political"? If discussing books that have been removed from circulation—often for depicting LGBTQ+ characters, Indigenous perspectives, or racial justice themes—is deemed too controversial for a veterans' hall, what does that say about who gets to participate in civic dialogue?

This isn't about attacking the legion. Branches operate independently, and Branch 285 has the right to set its own rental policies. But the timing stings. Freedom to Read Week was created by the Book and Periodical Council to defend Canadians' right to access diverse ideas. When a venue pulls an event designed to celebrate that principle, it doesn't remove politics from the room—it just picks a side quietly.

For Calgary writers and readers, the cancellation is a reminder that the infrastructure of free expression isn't guaranteed. It requires venues willing to host difficult conversations, organizations willing to take heat for unpopular guests, and communities willing to show up when the invite goes out. PEN Canada will find another space. The question is whether that space will need to think twice before saying yes.