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Dr Geoffrey Wade has laid a complaint with the Competition Bureau Canada claiming misrepresention of the nature of the book “The Island of Seven Cities”. The text of the complaint is reproduced below.
Random House Canada has just published a book by Paul Chiasson, entitled "The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered North America"
See here for details: http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679314554
The book is being advertised as:
History - Canada - Pre-Confederation (To 1867); History - China
The book has no relation to Chinese history, and that particular claim is a complete fabrication.
In addition, the advertisement notes:
"The Island of Seven Cities reveals for the first time the existence of a large Chinese colony that thrived on Canadian shores well before the European Age of Discovery."
This is also a complete and utter fabrication and constitutes gross deceit of the public.
This leaves the publishers open to investigation under Section 74.01 of the Canadian Competition Act, whereby
"A person engages in reviewable conduct who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever,
(a) makes a representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect; etc
Representing fiction as history and falsely declaring that Canada had been settled by Chinese people in the 15th century constitutes a "representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect."
I do hope that you will investigate this issue fully as the future knowledge of many Canadian schoolchildren will depend on whether you allow such fabrication in advertising to go without sanction.
Many thanks
Geoff Wade
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