Intellectual freedom is a foundational value for libraries. As the voice of the Canadian library community, CLFA-FCAB affirms that libraries have a responsibility to support, defend, and promote intellectual freedom. On February 1, 2017, the members of CFLA-FCAB endorsed the Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries, formerly a statement of the Canadian Library Association. It reads in part:
Libraries have a core responsibility to safeguard and facilitate access to constitutionally protected expressions of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, including those which some individuals and groups consider unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable…
Libraries provide, defend and promote equitable access to the widest possible variety of expressive content and resist calls for censorship and the adoption of systems that deny or restrict access to resources.
Intellectual Freedom Defense Fund
This fund provides up to $5,000 in financial assistance to public libraries serving populations under 29,999, or libraries that would encounter undue financial hardship when defending intellectual freedom. Management of the Intellectual Freedom Defense Fund transferred to the Ontario Library Association, as a registered charity, upon dissolution of the Canadian Library Association (CLA). You can donate to the fund via CanadaHelps by selecting Intellectual Freedom Fund from the menu and you will receive a tax receipt.
Intellectual Freedom Challenges Survey
As part of our commitment to intellectual freedom, CFLA-FCAB encourages the reporting of Intellectual Freedom Challenges by Canadian libraries and partners with the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University to provide access to the results in the Canadian Library Challenges Database.
The survey and database include challenges to items in library collections, as well as to displays, programs, room usage and computer access. By documenting and reporting these incidents, Canadian libraries demonstrate their commitment to public accountability and institutional transparency. Learn more about the history of the Intellectual Freedom Challenges Survey, which has been conducted in the Canadian library community since 2006.
Latest News
Challenges faced by Canadian Libraries in 2025
2025 saw a dramatic rise in censorship efforts aimed at libraries in Canada, with activity focused at school libraries in Alberta following the Alberta Ministerial
Bill 28 approved by Alberta Government
CFLA-FCAB joins the Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries (CAP) in their call for Alberta libraries to be consulted about anticipated regulatory changes that will result