Film Classification Act, 2005

The Film Classification Act, 2005 is a statute which governs motion picture and computer game ratings in the province of Ontario, Canada. The law also provides the legal basis for the activities of the Ontario Film Review Board. Prior to this, film censorship and classification in Ontario was mandated first by the Theatres and Cinematographs Act, 1911 then the Theatres Act, 1953.

Originally, motion pictures were reviewed and censored under the Theatres and Cinematographs Act which was passed on 24 March 1911 and established the Board of Censors, the first film review board in Ontario. The law was originally scheduled to be in force on 1 June that year, but was postponed until at least 20 June because of an illness of Arthur Matheson who as Ontario's treasurer was responsible for appointing the new board. This led to the creation of the Ontario Board of Censors of Moving Pictures which began operations on 27 June 1911. Each film shown in the province was required to be reviewed and approved by the Board which would then apply a "stamp" which would be displayed on theatre screens prior to the start of the film. Films which did not include the Board's stamp could be confiscated by authorities under the new law, which conversely prevented law enforcement officials from stopping the presentation of stamped films because of the film's content (section 6). Enforcement of the stamping provisions began after 1 December 1911, following the Board's initial task of reviewing 4000 extant films.

Section 10 of the original 1911 act prohibited children less than 15 years from attending a commercial film unless accompanied by an adult. This led to an unintended consequence where young girls would approach adult strangers to escort them to movies. There were recommendations that this provision be revoked or changed, especially since the film censorship regime would be deemed sufficient to protect children from inappropriate film content. In 1914, the provincial government introduced amendments to restrict eligible escorts to parents or legal guardians. Theatre operators were held responsible for ensuring that children were not being escorted by strangers.

After its first year, some film exhibitors would flout the law by removing certificate stamp images from films inspected by the Board of Censors then splicing these certificates to films which were not approved for Ontario audiences.

...
Wikipedia