Latest news with #DemetriosNicolaides
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Conservative activists gave Alberta government list of ‘inappropriate' books in school libraries
Seen here in an Edmonton secondary school library, is one of four graphic novels Government of Alberta officials cited as examples of explicit and age inappropriate material that prompted new province-wide content guidelines. (Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter) Social conservative activist groups provided Alberta government officials with lists of books now facing prohibition under new provincial content guidelines for school libraries, the IJF has learned. On May 26, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the province is bringing in new rules for school libraries after investigations by his office found materials containing depictions of sexual acts, nudity, drug and alcohol use, profanity and other mature content on the shelves in Alberta K-12 schools. Alberta currently has voluntary guidelines for library books, but school boards follow their own processes for selecting age-appropriate and relevant materials for students. Because of the inconsistent standards between school divisions, 'sexually explicit material has made their way onto school library shelves,' Nicolaides said, and so public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools will be required to follow province-wide guidelines starting in the 2025-26 school year. While the province said it identified multiple books with sexually explicit and inappropriate content, it has so far only named four coming-of-age graphic novels: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Flamer by Mike Curato. Three of the four books focus on 2SLGBTQ+ characters and themes. Nicolaides told reporters in Calgary on Monday he was alerted to the issue by a group of parents who provided him with excerpts from 'many of these books and other materials' and showed him information suggesting they were available in different schools. However, members of the groups Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) and Action4Canada have since taken credit for supplying Nicolaides with the names of books they wanted removed from school libraries. In an email sent to followers, PCE celebrated the launch of Alberta's public consultation on 'sexually explicit' books in K-9 schools, telling members 'your efforts helped make this happen. 'PCE has worked with concerned parents for the past two years to expose this issue. Using a list prepared by Action4Canada, one of our dedicated volunteers submitted examples of graphic books to government officials—proof that titles like Gender Queer and Fun Home are available to children in Alberta schools. This consultation is a direct result of that work," the email newsletter reads. PCE is an Alberta-based parental rights group that has previously taken issue with sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education in schools, gay-straight alliance laws and other 2SLGBTQ-related policies. Action4Canada is a conservative Christian group with more than 60 chapters across Canada. The group promotes deeply conspiratorial beliefs, claiming the Canadian government and education system have been 'infiltrated by radical LGBTQ activists' and that SOGI education and sexually explicit books are part of a 'global agenda to sexualize children, interfere with parental rights, eliminate the natural family and normalize pedophilia.' After Alberta announced its new library guidelines on Monday, Action4Canada posted on its website, thanking Nicolaides for meeting with their team and responding to their concerns about sexually explicit materials in Alberta schools. In the post, the group said its Calgary chapter has been communicating with government officials over several months, providing evidence of inappropriate books in schools and a 'comprehensive binder' that outlines supposed harms of SOGI education. Nicolaides told the IJF in an email he met with PCE and 'other concerned parents.' He did not respond to questions about whether he met separately with Action4Canada or when these meetings took place. Action4Canada has led campaigns to have sexual education and 2SLGBTQ+ themed books removed from public and school libraries in several provinces. A 36-page list of 'sexually explicit and pornographic books' available in Canadian libraries published by the group includes the novels Gender Queer and Fun Home. The list includes excerpts of text and images from the novels. Many of the same excerpts are found in a document the government of Alberta provided to reporters on Monday showing examples of sexually explicit and graphic content found in library materials. 'Misrepresentation' of meetings by education minister Corinne Mason, professor of women's and gender studies at Mount Royal University, said Nicolaides' initial claim that complaints about school library books had come from parents concerned about books their kids had access to in schools is a 'total misrepresentation of the facts.' 'It's a blatant lie from the minister about what's happened,' they said. Both Action4Canada and PCE are highly organized and well-funded lobby organizations, Mason said. And in the case of PCE, one with strong ties to the UCP government and Alberta's conservative movement. PCE executive director John Hilton-O'Brien was a founding board member and past president of the Wildrose Party of Alberta. During the 2022 UCP leadership race, Danielle Smith and other candidates participated in a forum on education hosted by PCE. Mason said that Action4Canada's campaigns have targeted 2SLGBTQ+ communities as ideological indoctrinators and dangerous to children in a time when the community is being violently harassed by hateful actors as pedophiles and groomers. And that it's problematic if the UCP government has been looking to them for frameworks around what is and isn't appropriate in schools. 'The fact that Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada, both of those organizations claim this as a win, I think that should be really, really concerning for folks like myself, who are very concerned about the influence of the parental rights movement generally in Alberta,' Mason said Nicolaides said in an email the actions being taken by the UCP government have nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community. 'The fact that our actions of protecting young students from seeing porn, child molestation, self-harm and other sexual material in school libraries are being labelled as anti-LGBTQ is frankly irresponsible,' he said. Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling also expressed concern that the government was willing to meet with special interest groups about library materials, but not educators. 'Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada are special interest groups who frequently target the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Their claims that the provincial government is taking direction from them and not educators is questionable and alarming,' Schilling said. PCE told the IJF that its interest 'is in the reasonable rights of parents. Nobody who attacks those rights can expect to escape our criticism. Those claiming that we are discriminating against them are merely using the LGBTQ+ community to excuse their egregious actions.' Edmonton Public Schools, the Calgary Board of Education, and the Library Association of Alberta have all said the province hadn't contacted them about the issue of age-inappropriate books in libraries before Monday's announcement. 'Unprecedented' restriction of school library books All provinces provide general orientations about library content, but it remains the business of school boards to decide what books it uses, said James L. Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. Setting guidelines that block certain types of books from being in any school libraries is 'really unprecedented,' he said. 'What they're doing is censoring books,' Turk said. 'It's an absolute break from whatever any other province has done. It's following the lead of Florida and Texas and Utah and some American states that are moving in this direction.' The Florida Department of Education has removed over 700 books from K-12 school libraries. The agency maintains that no books have been banned in the state and the materials are 'sexually explicit' and don't belong in schools. The number of banned books in Florida spiked after a 2023 law was passed requiring school districts to have a policy for challenging materials that 'depicts or describes sexual conduct, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used.' The four books named by Alberta's government have been frequently targeted by censors throughout North America. Gender Queer has the distinction of being the most banned book in the U.S. in 2021 and 2023, and the graphic novel shared the title of the most banned book in U.S. schools in 2022 with Curato's Flamer. These novels have also received multiple literary awards and continue to be selected for library catalogues by educators because of their ability to grapple with difficult subjects young adults are coping with in their lives, Turk said. 'They do raise challenging issues, but young adults deal with challenging things in their lives, and nobody is forcing anyone to read any of these books when they're in school libraries,' he said. Turk said these books may have been found in K-9 schools in Alberta because for students in grade nine and up they are appropriate. He added that he would be surprised if they appeared in the library catalogues of elementary schools. Nicolaides told the IJF these materials were found in schools across the province, but said they are not naming the individual schools to ensure the safety and security of teachers, staff and students at these libraries. The only specific school that has been identified as part of the province's investigation is an Edmonton public school for students in grades 4-9. Garrett Koehler, press secretary to the minister of education, shared images on social media of Flamer and Gender Queer on the shelves of the school, commenting 'these problematic books were found in and around books like Goldilocks…' Gender Queer has been awarded the American Library Association's Alex Award, given to books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 to 18. The Government of Alberta's press release for its age-appropriate book guidelines policy states the recommended reading age for Flamer is 14 and up, or younger with adult guidance. By Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Conservative activists gave Alberta government list of ‘inappropriate' books in school libraries
Social conservative activist groups provided Alberta government officials with lists of books now facing prohibition under new provincial content guidelines for school libraries, the IJF has learned. On May 26, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the province is bringing in new rules for school libraries after investigations by his office found materials containing depictions of sexual acts, nudity, drug and alcohol use, profanity and other mature content on the shelves in Alberta K-12 schools. Alberta currently has voluntary guidelines for library books, but school boards follow their own processes for selecting age-appropriate and relevant materials for students. Because of the inconsistent standards between school divisions, 'sexually explicit material has made their way onto school library shelves,' Nicolaides said, and so public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools will be required to follow province-wide guidelines starting in the 2025-26 school year. While the province said it identified multiple books with sexually explicit and inappropriate content, it has so far only named four coming-of-age graphic novels: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Flamer by Mike Curato. Three of the four books focus on 2SLGBTQ+ characters and themes. Nicolaides told reporters in Calgary on Monday he was alerted to the issue by a group of parents who provided him with excerpts from 'many of these books and other materials' and showed him information suggesting they were available in different schools. However, members of the groups Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) and Action4Canada have since taken credit for supplying Nicolaides with the names of books they wanted removed from school libraries. In an email sent to followers, PCE celebrated the launch of Alberta's public consultation on 'sexually explicit' books in K-9 schools, telling members 'your efforts helped make this happen. 'PCE has worked with concerned parents for the past two years to expose this issue. Using a list prepared by Action4Canada, one of our dedicated volunteers submitted examples of graphic books to government officials—proof that titles like Gender Queer and Fun Home are available to children in Alberta schools. This consultation is a direct result of that work,' the email newsletter reads. PCE is an Alberta-based parental rights group that has previously taken issue with sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education in schools , gay-straight alliance laws and other 2SLGBTQ-related policies. Action4Canada is a conservative Christian group with more than 60 chapters across Canada. The group promotes deeply conspiratorial beliefs, claiming the Canadian government and education system have been ' infiltrated by radical LGBTQ activists ' and that SOGI education and sexually explicit books are part of a ' global agenda to sexualize children, interfere with parental rights, eliminate the natural family and normalize pedophilia.' After Alberta announced its new library guidelines on Monday, Action4Canada posted on its website , thanking Nicolaides for meeting with their team and responding to their concerns about sexually explicit materials in Alberta schools. In the post, the group said its Calgary chapter has been communicating with government officials over several months, providing evidence of inappropriate books in schools and a 'comprehensive binder' that outlines supposed harms of SOGI education. Nicolaides told the IJF in an email he met with PCE and 'other concerned parents.' He did not respond to questions about whether he met separately with Action4Canada or when these meetings took place. Action4Canada has led campaigns to have sexual education and 2SLGBTQ+ themed books removed from public and school libraries in several provinces. A 36-page list of 'sexually explicit and pornographic books' available in Canadian libraries published by the group includes the novels Gender Queer and Fun Home. The list includes excerpts of text and images from the novels. Many of the same excerpts are found in a document the government of Alberta provided to reporters on Monday showing examples of sexually explicit and graphic content found in library materials. Corinne Mason, professor of women's and gender studies at Mount Royal University, said Nicolaides' initial claim that complaints about school library books had come from parents concerned about books their kids had access to in schools is a 'total misrepresentation of the facts.' 'It's a blatant lie from the minister about what's happened,' they said. Both Action4Canada and PCE are highly organized and well-funded lobby organizations, Mason said. And in the case of PCE, one with strong ties to the UCP government and Alberta's conservative movement. PCE executive director John Hilton-O'Brien was a founding board member and past president of the Wildrose Party of Alberta . During the 2022 UCP leadership race, Danielle Smith and other candidates participated in a forum on education hosted by PCE. Mason said that Action4Canada's campaigns have targeted 2SLGBTQ+ communities as ideological indoctrinators and dangerous to children in a time when the community is being violently harassed by hateful actors as pedophiles and groomers. And that it's problematic if the UCP government has been looking to them for frameworks around what is and isn't appropriate in schools. 'The fact that Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada, both of those organizations claim this as a win, I think that should be really, really concerning for folks like myself, who are very concerned about the influence of the parental rights movement generally in Alberta,' Mason said Nicolaides said in an email the actions being taken by the UCP government have nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community. 'The fact that our actions of protecting young students from seeing porn, child molestation, self-harm and other sexual material in school libraries are being labelled as anti-LGBTQ is frankly irresponsible,' he said. Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling also expressed concern that the government was willing to meet with special interest groups about library materials, but not educators. 'Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada are special interest groups who frequently target the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Their claims that the provincial government is taking direction from them and not educators is questionable and alarming,' Schilling said. PCE told the IJF that its interest 'is in the reasonable rights of parents. Nobody who attacks those rights can expect to escape our criticism. Those claiming that we are discriminating against them are merely using the LGBTQ+ community to excuse their egregious actions.' Edmonton Public Schools, the Calgary Board of Education , and the Library Association of Alberta have all said the province hadn't contacted them about the issue of age-inappropriate books in libraries before Monday's announcement. All provinces provide general orientations about library content, but it remains the business of school boards to decide what books it uses, said James L. Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. Setting guidelines that block certain types of books from being in any school libraries is 'really unprecedented,' he said. 'What they're doing is censoring books,' Turk said. 'It's an absolute break from whatever any other province has done. It's following the lead of Florida and Texas and Utah and some American states that are moving in this direction.' The Florida Department of Education has removed over 700 books from K-12 school libraries. The agency maintains that no books have been banned in the state and the materials are 'sexually explicit' and don't belong in schools. The number of banned books in Florida spiked after a 2023 law was passed requiring school districts to have a policy for challenging materials that 'depicts or describes sexual conduct, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used.' The four books named by Alberta's government have been frequently targeted by censors throughout North America. Gender Queer has the distinction of being the most banned book in the U.S. in 2021 and 2023 , and the graphic novel shared the title of the most banned book in U.S. schools in 2022 with Curato's Flamer. These novels have also received multiple literary awards and continue to be selected for library catalogues by educators because of their ability to grapple with difficult subjects young adults are coping with in their lives, Turk said. 'They do raise challenging issues, but young adults deal with challenging things in their lives, and nobody is forcing anyone to read any of these books when they're in school libraries,' he said. Turk said these books may have been found in K-9 schools in Alberta because for students in grade nine and up they are appropriate. He added that he would be surprised if they appeared in the library catalogues of elementary schools. Nicolaides told the IJF these materials were found in schools across the province, but said they are not naming the individual schools to ensure the safety and security of teachers, staff and students at these libraries. The only specific school that has been identified as part of the province's investigation is an Edmonton public school for students in grades 4-9. Garrett Koehler, press secretary to the minister of education, shared images on social media of Flamer and Gender Queer on the shelves of the school, commenting 'these problematic books were found in and around books like Goldilocks…' Gender Queer has been awarded the American Library Association's Alex Award, given to books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 to 18. The Government of Alberta's press release for its age-appropriate book guidelines policy states the recommended reading age for Flamer is 14 and up, or younger with adult guidance.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Edmonton school trustees, advocates want province to allow undocumented kids to enrol
Elementary students coats and boots are seen in a school in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Edmonton public school trustees have voted to push Alberta's government to make legislative changes to allow undocumented kids to enrol in school. The vote comes after advocacy groups sent speakers and affected children to months of school board meetings to bring the issue to light. Alberta Workers Association for Research and Education director Whitney Haynes says her organization is working with nine such children in the Edmonton area, though she knows more are out there. Haynes says Canadian residency status can be a fluctuating process that can lead to lapses and leave kids undocumented, like when parents on temporary work visas are between jobs. Alberta's education minister says most foreign children are eligible for public education in the province, but not all. Demetrios Nicolaides says children have a right to education, but that doesn't necessarily mean education comes 'free of charge.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025. Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
National Post
6 days ago
- General
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: Alberta is right to take graphic sex books out of elementary schools
There is currently no expectation that Alberta schools refrain from giving kids access to books containing depictions of child molestation and point-of-view oral sex. That is why on Monday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced he'd be working over the summer to craft a new policy on age-appropriate content for schools, slated to take effect in September. Article content Article content Article content Public consultations for the new standards are open until June 6, and the ministry has indicated that the ensuing policy could come as early as 'late spring, 2025.' Article content Article content Which all means that Nicolaides will now have to spend his summer facing performative outrage from progressives suddenly concerned about free expression, and who insinuate at every turn that common-sense content curation is the same thing as fascist book banning. Kudos to him. Article content What prompted this new project was the education ministry's discovery of some clearly over-the-line materials in 57 Alberta schools. Among these was the infamous autobiographical graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, which has been banned from the collections of at least 56 U.S. school districts. The contents are so graphic that a concerned adult in Florida was removed from a school board meeting for trying to read some pages into the record. Article content Not only does that book promote gender ideology — the idea of a gender spectrum completely detached from biological sex — it contains graphic depictions of sex and masturbation in child-friendly colours. It covers porn (the main character is an avid user), masturbation (vibrators and dildos are discussed with excitement) and kinks (the main character claims to be an autoandrophile — that is, someone who is aroused at the thought of being a male). Article content At one point, the main character is told — and I'm sorry to repeat this here, but the point that this is inappropriate for children needs to be made — 'I can't wait to have your c–k in my mouth — I'm going to give you the blow job of your life. Then I want you inside me.' She later dons a strap-on and receives oral sex in a panel that graces the viewer with multiple angles. The entire book is more than 200 pages, and isn't entirely about sex, but that's not the point. The problem is that some pages contain graphic sexual content — to the point where even the author doesn't recommend it for children. Article content And yet, Gender Queer was found on the library shelves of some Calgary schools with students in Grades K-9, according to the ministry, as well as high schools of both major cities. Garrett Koehler, spokesperson for the education department, shared a photo with me showing the book on the same shelf as Naruto, a popular manga series for children; it was taken at an elementary school.
Calgary Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Braid: UCP reacts as kids exposed to shocking sex images in school libraries
Books in a school library are seen in this file photo. How did stuff like this ever get into school libraries? THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. 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 Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides put the question Monday by releasing excerpts from four graphic novels. Graphic is the right word. There are images of oral sex and hints of pedophilia. Explicit is too mild a word for some of the text. Most people will be shocked that this material is in school libraries frequented by kids as young as five or six. Predictably, Nicolaides is already being accused of banning books. We're a long way from that point. The minister just aims to protect little kids from very explicit sexual images. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again But still, it's a risky precedent that bears watching. A group of parents came to Nicolaides' officials with the excerpts. His staff later confirmed the novels are available in K-12 schools in Edmonton and Calgary. This is an emotional subject for some parents, especially in rural Alberta. Many are convinced the schools are intentionally corrupting their kids. One of the novels, Fun Home, prompted a culture war in the U.S. last year, leading to bans in at least six states. Nicolaides took the sensational step of sending the images in an embargoed news release. He sure got our attention on a Monday morning. You won't find the pictures in this publication. Those who complete an online opinion survey will have access. Nicolaides is also accused of being anti-gay and anti-trans. But he did not once mention LGBTQ or transgender, although those themes are in the novels (as well as straight sex). In short, he did not inflame feelings against any group. Nor did he advocate a ban on other material relating to gay and trans people. He stuck strictly to condemning graphic sex and self-harm. Nicolaides also noted that government didn't order removal of the books and in fact has no authority to do so. But he said he'll consult and then develop a policy for schools. This is a mild approach, at least compared to the official rage aimed at school authorities in the U.S. If anything, Nicolaides will face criticism from some in the UCP base who don't think he goes nearly far enough.
