Canadian School Libraries (CSL) response to September 2 update from Alberta Ministry of Education

September 2, 2025

For immediate release

Canadian School Libraries is heartened to see that the Alberta Education Minister has decided to pause his controversial and deeply troubling attack on the rights of students to read. However, this is just a pause to reword rather than a full withdrawal of the ministerial order. This pause has come about because the original ministerial order was so vague and poorly worded that books like The Handmaid’s Tale were caught up in it. Despite the Minister and Premier’s insistence that it was never meant to catch such classics, their decision to word it vaguely and rush implementation without involving educators or thorough consultation made such an outcome inevitable.

It remains the position of Canadian School Libraries that there is no need for this ministerial order to exist. Individual parents have the right to decide on their child’s reading, but they do not have the right to impose it on everyone. The selection and availability of school library and learning resource materials should be made by trained professionals, not politicians and bureaucrats. We reiterate again, the need for Alberta to invest in their education system, particularly in rehiring teacher-librarians rather than throwing out books.

As stated in our original response: “Not every book in a school library is meant for every student. Schools need to have a wide range of age and developmentally appropriate resources that cover the needs of the student population. School library collections, with a richness and diversity that allows students to see themselves and experience lives other than their own, are developed within the lens of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rights and freedoms it affords to all Canadians, including children.There is no one size fits all model that can easily be applied to every school. Without trained specialists to make these decisions, it is not surprising that issues would arise.”

We still see no attempt to get professionals input into this process, or to acknowledge the role of trained professionals in this work. Get rid of the ministerial order completely.

Joseph Jeffery, Chair
Canadian School Libraries
www.canadianschoollibraries.ca
chair@canadianschoollibraries.ca

On behalf of the CSL Board of Directors

Joseph Jeffery
Chair
British Columbia

Melanie Mulcaster
Vice-Chair
Ontario

Sarah Wethered
Director
British Columbia

Jennifer Casa-Todd
Director
Ontario

Chelsea Baker
Director
Quebec

Diana Maliszewski
Director
Ontario

Harold Semenuk
Director
Alberta

Lila Armstrong
Director
British Columbia

(Via Canadian School Libraries)