Alberta bans sex books from school libraries
Alberta has ordered school boards in the Canadian province to remove all sexually explicit material from their library shelves by October and has banned students from accessing such material. Its Conservative government appears to be following the puritanical path taken by Republican officials in the United States.
By announcing the ban on Alberta schools having any books or materials of a sexual nature in their libraries as of October 1 , the Minister of Education of the western province, Demetrios Nicolaides, says he has found a balanced approach, reports the Canadian Press :
“We believe,” Nicolaides said in remarks summarized by the Edmonton Journal , “that students should be curious, inquisitive and exploratory about their world without being confronted with sexually explicit content in school libraries.” These boards will have to publish a complete list of everything their libraries offer and will also be required, starting January 1, to put in place policies to dictate how books are selected and evaluated.
Radio-Canada reports that "Alberta's Ministry of Education and Children says it has conducted extensive consultations, including stakeholder meetings, public opinion polls, and an online public survey that garnered nearly 80,000 responses." Alberta Parents Union President Jeff Park welcomes the announcement.
But several voices are raising the alarm: “Every time a government
Courrier International
