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CBC’s ‘Canada Reads’ descends into farce

Accusations of terrorism and plagiarism fly in book competition

A celebrity judge on CBC’s Canada Reads has accused a rival author of terrorism and claimed another book in the competition is full of lies. Anne-France Goldwater, described by the CBC as “Canada’s Judge Judy” made the comments while defending John Vaillant’s The Tiger on the radio debate show. When asked about an opposing book, Goldwater sounded off.

“Carmen Aguirre is a bloody terrorist. How we let her into Canada, I don’t understand,” she said, about the author of the memoir Something Fierce, reports The Globe and Mail.

Goldwater later accused the author of the Prisoner of Tehran, a memoir about being arrested and imprisoned in Iran, of making up large portions of her book. “I don’t know a single author who likes what Canada Reads has become,” novelist Trevor Cole posted on Twitter. “Toxic was a word I heard yesterday, and it fits.”

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