Bell: Graphic sex in school books — Albertans speak, Smith government will crack down
You remember the story.
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Sexually explicit books found in Calgary and Edmonton public school libraries, including in schools teaching the youngest kids.
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Graphic books with graphic depictions of sexual acts, where a drawing can indeed be worth a thousand words.
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Masturbation. A masturbation game. Sexual accessories. Oral sex. Child molestation.
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The Smith government put out a survey Albertans could answer.
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They now have the results.
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When asked when children should be able to access sexually explicit materials in school libraries, these are the numbers.
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Never. 34 percent.
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Elementary school. 4 per cent.
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Middle school. 22 per cent.
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High school. 23 per cent.
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At all ages. 17 per cent.
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A little more than six out of 10 surveyed believe parents should have a role in reporting or challenging sexually explicit content in school libraries.
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Parents of school age children were the most supportive of children not having any access to the sexual materials in schools.
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After duplicates and blank entries were removed, 77,910 surveys were counted.
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'Parents don't believe this kind of material is appropriate for kids,' says Nicolaides, the minister of education.
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He also talked to school boards and librarians. He has heard the voices on this issue.
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Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Calgary Herald
Bell: Graphic sex in school books — Albertans speak, Smith government will crack down
You remember the story. Article content Sexually explicit books found in Calgary and Edmonton public school libraries, including in schools teaching the youngest kids. Article content Article content Graphic books with graphic depictions of sexual acts, where a drawing can indeed be worth a thousand words. Article content Masturbation. A masturbation game. Sexual accessories. Oral sex. Child molestation. Article content Article content Article content The Smith government put out a survey Albertans could answer. Article content They now have the results. Article content When asked when children should be able to access sexually explicit materials in school libraries, these are the numbers. Article content Never. 34 percent. Article content Elementary school. 4 per cent. Article content Middle school. 22 per cent. Article content High school. 23 per cent. Article content At all ages. 17 per cent. Article content A little more than six out of 10 surveyed believe parents should have a role in reporting or challenging sexually explicit content in school libraries. Article content Parents of school age children were the most supportive of children not having any access to the sexual materials in schools. Article content Article content After duplicates and blank entries were removed, 77,910 surveys were counted. Article content Article content 'Parents don't believe this kind of material is appropriate for kids,' says Nicolaides, the minister of education. Article content He also talked to school boards and librarians. He has heard the voices on this issue.
Global News
a day ago
- Global News
United Conservative Party releases CPP survey results 21 months late
It's taken nearly two years for the province to release results from a survey that asked Albertans if they wanted an Alberta Pension Plan (APP). The survey showed 63 per cent of respondents were opposed to an APP, while only 10 per cent were in support. More recent polling from Leger in February found 55 per cent of Albertan's opposed an Alberta Pension Plan. A May 2025 poll from Janet Brown found 55 per cent of Albertans were in support of the APP if there were more details. In May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said, 'I am seeing the results you are, I am not seeing that there is an appetite to put it to the people at the moment.' Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, says the Janet Brown poll, commissioned by the government of Alberta, has interesting results with the number of people waiting for more information. Story continues below advertisement He adds people wanted answers to questions. 'Like, what is the amount that Alberta Pension Plan would start with? What would be the contribution rates? What would be the benefit rates? What would be the mobility between provinces? All of those sorts of questions haven't been answered,' said Bratt. 1:56 Alberta finance minister says he has not 'flip-flopped' on proposed pension change Bratt says the survey was not fair because it asked questions that assumed the respondent wanted an Alberta Pension Plan. 'The question itself was, would you want to leave the CPP if you had the exact same program. In the absence of any details, how do you know that that's the exact same program,' said Bratt. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He adds the survey results are no longer accurate but the delay of the release of the results shows a lack of transparency from the provincial government. 'The bigger story is how and why the government of Alberta refused to hand over public survey data that they encouraged Albertans to fill out. They went to extreme measures to block it, because they realized it was going to embarrass them. They believed that this was a neutral process to just explore the idea of leaving the Canadian pension plan, but it wasn't,' said Bratt. Story continues below advertisement The province says they will continue to talk with Albertans on this topic and says nothing will change unless Albertans approve a new pension plan in a referendum. Bratt says by itself, majority of Albertans are against the province pulling out of CPP and creating the APP. He adds that he expects to see several referendum questions about Alberta's independence. Those might include questions on the APP, an Alberta police force, and Alberta independence. 'I think what the government is hoping for is maybe people might not want to separate, but they still want to send a message to Ottawa,' said Bratt.
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Library officials, education minister meet over book controversy
A delegation from the Library Association of Alberta met Tuesday morning with provincial Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, warning that the government is moving into dangerous territory if it dictates what books should be weeded out of school libraries. Article content 'Our key message was that we feel that decisions about what belongs in school libraries and learning commons are best made by trained educators and librarians,' said Laura Winton, past president of the Library Association of Alberta and the organization's lead on this issue. 'Obviously, he's not in agreement with our viewpoint.' Article content Article content Article content In May Nicolaides said the government would be consulting the public about possible standards that could be implemented when it came to books that are available in school libraries. Four books were used as examples of materials that the ministry found objectionable due to their sexually explicit content: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Flamer by Mike Curato. The four books that were highlighted by Nicolaides deal with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes. Article content Article content After the education minister made the announcement, conservative Christian Canadian lobby group Action4Canada said that members of its Calgary chapter had met with Nicolaides and had highlighted the four books in question. Nicolaides confirmed he had met with Action4Canada, but said his decision to look at placing standards on what can and can't go in school libraries was based on wider feedback he received from parents. Article content Article content Winton said that if Nicolaides goes through with a ministerial order, which she said was discussed in their meeting, Alberta would be the only province where the government set limits on what goes in school libraries. Article content Article content She said if school libraries are asked to do collection reviews, it will tax a system that is already short-staffed. Article content 'It's really intensive to do a collection review. Weeding is time-intensive and requires trained staff.' Article content Nicolaides said he and the librarians disagreed on many points. Article content 'School boards and parents have been clear, they do not want these types of books on a library shelf where a young student could access them, full stop,' he said in a statement issued Wednesday. 'I'm disappointed the Library Association is advocating against the involvement of parents. Article content 'During my meeting with the Library Association of Alberta, I asked them if they could provide me with evidence-based, peer-reviewed research and literature that defends exposing young students to oral sex, pedophilia, child molestation, self harm and other extremely sexually explicit material. They had no answer and no evidence to back their claims.'
