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Visitors at the Calgary Public Library in November, 2018.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The Alberta government will restrict access to books in public libraries that it deems sexually explicit in a bid to shield children from what it calls “pornographic material paid for by the taxpayer.”
Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams tabled legislation on Thursday that will limit access to those materials in all of Alberta’s 324 public libraries for youth aged 15 and younger. Mr. Williams said the province will develop regulations for how that literature is restricted in the coming weeks.
The bill expands on rules introduced last summer that ordered schools in the province to remove books containing sexually graphic imagery from their libraries and classrooms.
“Pornographic material paid for by the taxpayer should not be in the access of children’s leisurely reading when they go in on an afternoon to the library,” Mr. Williams said at a Thursday news conference. On several occasions, he showed reporters examples of graphic novels depicting gay sex and masturbation.
The bill will also allow the minister to appoint an inspector to investigate how a library is managed or to determine if it’s complying with provincial law. Anyone who interferes with the minister or inspector would be guilty of an offence, the legislation says.
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The new policy is among a slew of rules and laws introduced over the past few years by Premier Danielle Smith’s government aimed at establishing what it perceived as needed guardrails for youth – specifically around gender identity, sexuality and political ideology.
In 2024, the province amended the Education Act to require parents of youth under 16 to opt into being taught about gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality.
It also required guardians to be notified about the use of students’ preferred pronouns and names, and to provide consent in the case of students under 16. The province has since used the Canadian Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to shield three pieces of legislation affecting trans and gender-diverse youth from legal challenges.
Last summer, the United Conservative Party government issued a ministerial order for the removal of books broadly deemed sexually explicit from public schools. The province faced accusations of book banning from education and free-speech advocates and raised the ire of numerous authors, including Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood.
The province later revised the rules to only include books containing visual depictions of sexual acts.
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At the time, two lobby groups – Action4Canada, a Christian organization, and Parents for Choice in Education, which has routinely challenged LGBTQ+ equity in schools – took credit for the province’s actions.
On Tuesday, the province introduced legislation meant to remove “ideology” from classrooms by prohibiting teachers and school boards from making political statements, saying it wants to protect students from bias.
Mr. Williams, on Thursday, said that while regulations haven’t been finalized, sexually explicit books will likely be safeguarded by librarians behind a counter or held in a distinct area of a library. Children 15 or younger would only be able to access the books with their parents’ approval.
A government document provided to reporters emphasized that the province is not ordering a book ban.
“This is not a question of freedom of expression or censorship. This kind of material can be very damaging to young children that’s seen as a cartoon. This is adult content,” said Mr. Williams.
The Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries – a group representing all public libraries in the province – said in a statement that it was not consulted on the changes and is reviewing the legislation.
Revised Alberta directive bans books with visual depictions of sexual acts from schools
The coalition said it has been discussing “intellectual freedom” with Mr. Williams’ ministry but did not elaborate.
Mr. Williams disputed the notion that the legislation was infringing on freedom of expression: “I would be surprised to find anyone in 1982 that understood the Charter being passed, that what it meant was seven-year-olds need access to pornography as a result of it.”
Thursday’s bill would also change laws to allow the municipal affairs minister to initiate reviews or respond to complaints related to public libraries.
Asked about complaints the province has heard, Mr. Williams held up two books – Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Craig Thompson’s Blankets – as the type of literature the provincial government hears about “informally, anecdotally.”
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi on Thursday derided the bill as “fascist behaviour” and said the government wants to dictate what people read, see and think.
“We have never had a problem because librarians are professionals. They know what they’re doing. They’re ensuring that kids are signing out age-appropriate material,” said Mr. Nenshi.
Harini Sivalingam, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s equality program, said in a statement that the group is concerned that Alberta’s restrictions will become a “slippery slope” that leads to expanded limits on other topics and viewpoints.
She added that restrictions often have a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ+ content, sexual health education materials and work by marginalized authors.
“Vague rules about ‘sexually explicit imagery’ could potentially capture a wide range of books, including educational materials, art books, graphic novels and health resources,” wrote Ms. Sivalingam.
With reports from The Canadian Press
