Below is a 1 page excerpt from an interview with long-time Saturday Night Live comedy writer James Downey, from Mike Sack's book Poking a Dead Frog.
Film Censorship entry from the Canadian Encyclopedia Online.
BC Film Classification falls under Consumer Protection BC.
This is the Classification System they use.
They are guided by Motion Picture Association of Canada guidelines and BC's Motion Picture Act & Regulations.
Film classification is under provincial jurisdiction, so it is possible for the same film to have a different rating in another province. Here is a list of the provincial Classifcation Offices from the Motion Picture Association Of Canada.
George Carlin was the first stand up comedian to have a special on HBO. Below is an excerpt from his famous 7 Dirty Words: the words the FCC told him he couldn't say on the other networks.
The Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council (CBSC) is a voluntary organization, which most Canadian broadcasters belong to. Members adhere to their Code of Ethics which outlines, among other things, the kinds of material they are not to broadcast.
As an example, from Clause 2:
...broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability. (CBSC, 2002)
The CBSC has separate conduct code for violence. Clauses include violence against women, specific groups, and animals. They also have another code for equitable portrayal that speaks to issues such as stereotyping, human rights, and degrading material.
All CBSC codes can be found on their website, CBSC Codes.
BC Civil Liberties Association has a policy statement on the Violence on Children's Television.
Think American television has more freedom? Think again. According to the FCC, it is illegal to broadcast anything "obscene, indecent or profane".
The Motion Picture Association has made themselves responsible for rating movies. The documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated delved into the secretive processes, and how the difference between and R rating and NC-17 rating can be the difference between a movie being seen or dying in obscurity.
Before the rating system, the Hays Code dictated what was or wasn't allowed to be portrayed in film. Film makers were forced to change or delete offending scenes if they wanted their movies to see the light of day. You can check out a full list in the Google Books copy of Jon Lewis' book Hollywood vs Hard Core of what they deemed offensive. Below are some of the odder ones: