Reading this meticulously researched and well-written book is like lifting up a big rock on a beach and staring with awe and astonishment at the creatures that slither for new cover . A powerful chronicle of the appalling campaigns of fear and lies that shattered and destroyed the lives of countless gay and lesbian Canadians in the name of national security. It names both the villains and the heroes, and is history all Canadians should be aware of.-- Svend Robinson, MP for Burnaby, BC, 1979 to 2004, and first openly gay MP in CanadaA landmark book in the study of Canadian state security apparatuses and an important contribution to Canadian history and LGBT studies.-- Barry Adam, author of The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian MovementThe Canadian War on Queers is a groundbreaking account of campaigns by the Canadian state against its own people. Passionately written and thoroughly researched, the book performs a public service by revealing how prejudice can destroy lives but, as importantly, how bigotry can be resisted. This book not only deserves to be read, it needs to be read.-- Steve Hewitt, Senior Lecturer in American and Canadian Studies at the University of Birmingham and author of Spying 101: The RCMP#146;s Secret Activities on Canadian Universities, 1917--1997 and Snitch! A History of the Modern Intelligence InformerCompelling personal stories illuminate this impeccably researched analysis of the use of national security legislation to wage a war against lesbian and gay Canadians during the Cold War years.

As if that wasn#146;t enough to accomplish in a single book, the authors employ this history to lay bare the current government#146;s use of national security legislation to silence critics of corporate power and justify a litany of human rights abuses in today#146;s 'war on terror.' A profound and extremely readable contribution to both queer history and the politics of fear that masquerade as straightforward policy concerns.-- Lynne Fernie, Filmmaker, Co-Director, Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives and Fiction and Other Truths: A Film about Jane RuleThe Canadian War on Queers is a major work on the history of the Canadian state security practices and an astonishing piece of queer social history. Kinsman and Gentile present an account of a national security regime built on persecutory practices that are mind-boggling in their scale and longevity. At the heart of this book is a collection of oral histories that are smart, heart-breaking, and funny. While it might sound trite, they have a lot to tell us about the importance of community and the possibility of resistance. The analysis offered by Kinsman and Gentile and the extensive archive constituted through their work is going to make an invigorating contribution to the history of sexuality in Canada.-- Mary Louise Adams, author of The Trouble With Normal: Postwar Youth and the Construction of SexualityNational security, state repression, and human rights: Who wouldn#146;t love a book with this much intrigue! Beautifully realized, this is an unbelievable fifty-year journey documenting a critical part of queer Canadian history.

Not only is it impeccably researched but it#146;s told through the voices of our community.-- Janine Fuller has played a leading role in the battle against censorship and discrimination in Canada. She is the manager of Little Sister#146;s Bookstore in Vancouver, BC, and co-author of Restricted Entry: Censorship on Trial.