Latest news with #DemetriosNicolaides
Edmonton Journal
6 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Braid: Ban on sex in school library books gets more explicit than the offending material
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides speaks in Edmonton on April 8, 2025. David Bloom/Postmedia LANGUAGE WARNING: This column contains sexually explicit language, as quoted from a provincial government ministerial order. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors I've been reading some hot stuff — sex-related material that Alberta students below Grade 10 are not allowed to see. So, don't look at this column if you're only in Grade 9, OK? We could all get in a lot of trouble. The material quoted here, however, is not from banned graphic novels. It's the government's own language in the July 4 order from Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, in which he banned sex depictions in school libraries. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 'Explicit sexual content,' it says, covers 'masturbation, including touching of a person's own genitals or anus with a finger, artificial sexual organ or other substitute for a sexual organ.' And: 'Contact of a sexual nature between the genitalia, mouth, hand, finger or other body part with the clothed or unclothed genitalia, pubic area, buttocks, anus, or if the person is female, the breast, of another person.' There's more besides, but you get it. You're unlikely to find the order posted in any school library. The rules would violate themselves. The parents who wanted the book ban would go nuts. But government officials, told to think about sex, tend to get very . . . explicit. The ban just keeps growing, lest the slightest salacious hint slip through to children. Exempt from these strictures, however, are any sexual depictions in religious texts, including the Bible. Kids can still be taught, for instance, the remarkable section of Ezekiel that describes a woman whose lovers had genitals like donkeys and emissions like horses. The religious exemption tells us everything about this ban. The most avid proponents are deeply religious people who form a significant part of the UCP's turbulent base. Such bans — and calls for firing of all public school boards — have been pushed by zealots such as Take Back Alberta founder David Parker. This all started with something real: library materials, unearthed by these inflamed advocates, contained images genuinely inappropriate for young kids. Nearly everybody who saw the few examples felt they crossed a line, at least for younger students.
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta not verifying daycare funds used to lower costs for parents: auditor general
Alberta's auditor general says the province isn't verifying that daycares getting public funding are using the money to lower fees for parents or to top up staff wages as required. A report from Doug Wylie says without verifying claims submitted by daycares, Alberta could be overcompensating operators. The report says a review of documents submitted by daycares found inaccurate reporting more than half the time, including an instance that led Alberta to overpay one daycare $26,000 in a month. The funds come from Alberta's multi-year agreement with Ottawa to lower daycare fees to an average of $10 per day by subsidizing operating costs for eligible daycares. Diana Batten, the Opposition NDP's children and family services critic, says without having proper checks and balances the United Conservative Party government isn't meeting its commitment to lower fees for parents. The report says Alberta spent more than $1 billion on daycare subsidies in 2023-2024. The office for Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025. Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
Edmonton Journal
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Opinion: Alberta's school library book ban an effective distraction
Article content Alberta's Education minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, has announced standards for determining what age-appropriate books will appear in school libraries. Students in any grade will not be able to see materials showing explicit sexual content, defined by the province as detailed and clear depictions of sexual acts, including masturbation, penetration and ejaculation. Article content Article content Article content Article content Minister Nicolaides has said no books are being banned and denies that the new policy amounts to censorship. Many critics disagree. Article content The minister's announcement has been greeted by astonishment and anger, but also hilarity. Online comments note that students nowadays are almost allergic to books but that the materials being banned can be found in huge dollops on the Internet — a source of which students are very much acquainted. Article content Article content Beyond the seeming absurdity of trying to censor the multiverse, the UCP's ham-handed efforts have raised several serious questions. To begin, it should be noted that this entire firestorm began when a fringe group of social conservatives found four — yes, four — coming-of-age graphic novels in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary. Article content In past years, local school boards and school librarians could have dealt with the issue. But the government has been kneecapping school boards while denying funding for the hiring of librarians. In many schools, librarians are now on the endangered species list. Article content The entire affair seems akin to using a sledgehammer to swat a fly when, with a little bit of common sense and funding, school librarians could have done the swatting. Article content But it has also not gone unnoticed that the four banned books focus on issues particularly relevant to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Critics contend the government is ramping up the culture wars to placate social conservative groups who, it must be remembered, lit the fire in the first place.
CTV News
13-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘Pornography is a problem': Smith defends new rules for Alberta school libraries
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a press conference in Edmonton, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Alberta's premier says 'pornography is a problem for young adults' in remarks defending her government's move to remove sexually explicit content from school library shelves this fall. Danielle Smith was responding to criticism received via text on her provincewide phone-in radio program on Saturday that a lack of education funding and overcrowded classrooms were more important issues than library content. Smith replied it's important the province make sure young children are exposed to age-appropriate material, and that they're 'not exposed to pornographic images early.' On Thursday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said sexually explicit content must be gone from school library shelves as of Oct. 1, but noted the move is not about book banning. The new policy stems from an announcement Nicolaides made in May after he said four inappropriate coming-of-age graphic novels were found in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary. Smith encouraged people to go online themselves and view explicit images from the books, telling listeners they'll be scratching their heads wondering how they got into elementary schools in the first place. 'If I am not permitted to describe to you the kind of images that seven-year-olds are seeing because it would offend your audience, then we shouldn't be showing them to seven-year-olds,' Smith said. 'So yeah, I think it's important that we make sure that young children are exposed to age-appropriate material only and that they're not exposed to pornographic images early.' On the question of priorities, Smith said her government is holding consultations with the public and teachers about other issues in schools, such as violence in the classroom. 'That is the biggest issue that we've been hearing from teachers, that in some situations, violent students are making life unsafe for our teachers,' Smith said. The novels in question are written by American authors: 'Gender Queer' by Maia Kobabe, 'Fun Home' by Alison Bechdel, 'Blankets' by Craig Thompson and 'Flamer' by Mike Curato. When Nicolaides announced plans for new rules back in May, Smith posted on social media that 'parents are right to be upset.' As part of the announcement Thursday, Nicolaides issued a list of specific sex acts that can't be explicitly described in library books alongside new rules for what students can read. No students will be allowed to access what the government calls explicit sexual content, including detailed depictions of masturbation, sexual penetration or sexual physical contact. By Jan. 1, new school board policies must be in place dictating how books are selected and reviewed. An online government survey before Thursday's announcement found that the majority of respondents across demographics don't support the government setting new standards for school library books. Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling said in a statement the new rules will add to teachers' workload, politicize a 'non-issue' and target vulnerable students. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2025.
National Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: Alberta's rules on explicit sex books are reasonable. Don't believe the fake news
Article content As for the work of actually limiting access to restricted materials, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told the Post, it can be as easy as 'A librarian, a teacher, an educational assistant or other type of supervisor, just ensuring that students in Grades 9 and under are not checking out any material that might contain really graphic depictions of sexual acts.' Article content The news elsewhere initially said otherwise. The Toronto Star headlined a Canadian Press story (which has since been updated): Alberta Bans Explicit Sex Books in Schools, Limits Who Reads About Kissing, Hugging. Which, simply, wasn't true, as hugging and kissing are allowed in all school libraries. Article content Global News, using the same wire story as the Star, made the same mistake: 'Students in Grade 9 and younger will not be allowed to read about puberty, menstruation and breastfeeding but religious texts, such as the Bible, will be allowed on the shelves,' read one excerpt. It later issued a correction and deleted an erroneous social media post. Article content Article content The Globe and Mail's report stated that, 'Libraries will also no longer be able to provide students in Grade 9 and below with any material that contains non-explicit sexual content, such as the depiction of bodies with references to genitalia, menstruation, puberty or romantic relationships, including handholding and kissing.' It wasn't true, but it sparked outrage online. Article content 'There must be some misunderstanding or misinterpretation there,' said Nicolaides. 'We've clearly provided a definition in the ministerial order that says those types of things — depictions of bodies, biological functions, menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding, kissing, hand-holding — are all non-sexual in nature, and there are no restrictions related to that material.' Article content Nevertheless, the first impression of the rules, false as they were, reverberated online. Mount Royal University professor and media commentator Duane Bratt repeated the falsity in a still-public tweet that, as of Friday morning, reached 18 times the audience of his subsequent correction. Article content Article content Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders made a similar post and deleted it when he realized it was wrong; however, he went on to write that Alberta had initially banned all books depicting menstruation, puberty and romantic relationships, claiming that, 'Alberta issued a change to the language' and ' updated the policy in response.' That was plain wrong: Alberta's ministerial order hadn't changed; it was the news outlets that had to revise their stories in light of their errors. Article content Can the rules still deliver absurd outcomes? Sure: there is a risk that paranoid, risk-averse school administrators will interpret the rules in the most cumbersome, laborious way possible, pulling umpteen young adult romance novels from shelves just to be safe. Article content
