Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[WideReceiver]

Pizza? I’ll use the phone, thanks. FO with the app.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

Pizza? I’ll use the phone, thanks. FO with the app.

Use the what now?

[WideReceiver]

Phone, as in phone the place.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

They’re banning Jaws. Freaking Jaws. That shark must be trans.

Keep in mind this is a protest by the librarians to ban things the UCP didn’t intend on banning by following the letter of the law as opposed to the UCP directly banning things.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Ped

Gee, if only they could come up with a way to ensure that books are not being read by students at inappropriate age levels. Nope, that's too hard, just ban them all!

Yes, that would cost money because they would need to hire librarians again. Where would they possibly find so many stern looking women with tight hair buns??!?

If they keep increasing student populations at the rate they are without expanding schools then we won't have to worry about it because the school libraries will all end up becoming classrooms.

I've seen the stage of gyms get converted into a classroom. Teachers have had to give up their break/lunch room to make a classroom.

Once the libraries are all classrooms we won't have to worry about book bans anymore.

[MBates]

Originally Posted by GGG

Keep in mind this is a protest by the librarians to ban things the UCP didn’t intend on banning by following the letter of the law as opposed to the UCP directly banning things.

The simple fact is the government is claiming it is not banning books...while it is simultaneously banning the contents of books. I believe all right thinking people can see there is no difference in that distinction.

With respect I disagree this is librarians or school boards protesting. The book banning government did not have the courage to make the actual banned list and stand behind it (because it would take a ton of work and almost certainly be an unprincipled pile of nonsense). So they set the mandatory terms of the ban and forced others to do their dirty work (and created this massive undertaking in July when schools are not open or functioning to be able to even begin organizing their compliance). Sorry, but the UCP government wears this 100% because they have chosen every detail of it.

The Premier's Minister issued a formal Ministerial Order under the Education Act...and she is simply not telling the truth in claiming it gave "discretion" to school boards that is somehow being abused. It contains strict legal compliance language...in other words the government made a legally binding order that must be followed:

The school authority must not select for inclusion in a school library, or make available to any children or students in a school library, materials containing explicit sexual content.

and

A school authority must remove materials with explicit sexual content from school libraries no later than October 1 , 2025.

Anyone can read it for themselves (and bonus marks if you spot the hilarious irony that the Minister of Education cannot properly sign a Ministerial Order).

https://open.alberta.ca/publications/ec-030-2025

The legally binding order mandates that no book can be allowed in a school library - for any student of any age - if it includes "a detailed and clear depiction of a sexual act" which is expressly defined to include:

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 is no way legitimate way around this for the government. If a book contains a detailed and clear description of a person in any way touching the fully clothed breasts, buttocks or pubic area of another person in a sexual manner, then it must be banned and removed. The UCP government have, actually deemed it illegal for any student to be able to access a book that depicts a consensual physical fully clothed make-out session.

As a lawyer, I would be foolish to recommend that a school board defy a Ministerial Order in relation to a book that obviously includes banned content by relying on some vibe along the lines of "but the Premier likes that book" or "I don't think that's really what they were trying to do and we don't want to make our compliance with the law make the government have to explain their law to the public or make Dani have a temper tantrum at a podium."

Stupid ideas stupidly implemented directly caused stupid results. All courtesy of the UCP government...not the people forced to comply with it. In my view.

[GGG]

I wasn’t defending the government here. The government intended to use this to ban books with LGBTQ content and leave the rest. The librarians aren’t letting that happen

But the reason Ayn Rand is on here and the Handmaids Tale is a direct and intentional protest against the policy.

There is no way to go through every book in the collection and determine if there is sexual content in any reasonable length of time.

I fully support the strategy of the librarians going for maximum effect here following the letter of the law.

I suppose my poorly made point is that people shouldn’t be mad that the UCP banned jaws. They should be that the UCP is passing anti LGBTQ policies.

[WideReceiver]

When (I believe) Texas banned books a (I believe) university gave free access to those banned books. Someone here should do that.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

When (I believe) Texas banned books a (I believe) university gave free access to those banned books. Someone here should do that.

Any public library in the province should have those books, so kids can definitely get them from there. Although it would be cool to see universities and colleges step up and extend official invites for any kid to come and read those books or check them out.

[Point Blank]

The book ban is in line with the government’s MO. Make mandates but no resources to support it. No funds to support librarians but wants a board to create a list themselves. On top of this, they want teachers to create a digital catalogue of every book in their classroom, and students can’t access these books until it’s done. Goes without saying they’re asked to do this with no compensation. It’s literally an impossible job, when I taught elementary, I spent over $500 on YA novels that I’ve vetted on Goodreads. How tf am I supposed to create a digital catalogue when I had over 200 novels in my classroom?

I’m now a curriculum specialist with the CBE, and the new K-6 curriculum is absurd. There’s also no provincially created resources for this new curriculum, so now Grade 2 teachers have to learn how sound refracts in various mediums without any support on this concept nor suggestions as to how to make this concrete for Grade 2 children.

They’ve also mandated so many assessments in elementary that a teacher loses at least one month of teaching time just to give assessments. The climate has becomes super regressive because teachers are pressured to teach K-3 children how to write tests all day.

Despite what the provincial government says about this strike, every teacher I’ve spoken with has always pointed out complexity and class sizes as the major issue. Hiring 1000 teachers per year for the next 3 years when the CBE alone is 200+ schools will not significantly impact classroom size and complexity; we also literally don’t even have space anymore for these new teachers because all extra rooms and libraries have already been converted into classrooms.

[Ashartus]

One of the other consequences of the book ban order is that classroom libraries are basically being shut down to start the school year. Classroom libraries are generally books the teachers have bought since there is no school funding for them, but are there for students to read. However the order requires the books to be entered into a publicly available database and to be reviewed to ensure they comply with the requirements of the order. Teachers don't have time to go and enter all their books into a database at the start of the school year and no one is clear on who the "authority" is that then has to review them all and confirm they are OK. So the direction my wife received is her classroom library has to be off limits until further notice.

[Fuzz]

LOL. You just crossed a literary giant, Dumbsmith. I'd pay Elon Musk billions to watch Atwood debate busboobs.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

One of the other consequences of the book ban order is that classroom libraries are basically being shut down to start the school year. Classroom libraries are generally books the teachers have bought since there is no school funding for them, but are there for students to read. However the order requires the books to be entered into a publicly available database and to be reviewed to ensure they comply with the requirements of the order. Teachers don't have time to go and enter all their books into a database at the start of the school year and no one is clear on who the "authority" is that then has to review them all and confirm they are OK. So the direction my wife received is her classroom library has to be off limits until further notice.

Is it also true kids can't bring books into school unless approved somehow so most schools are saying "no outside books"?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

One of the other consequences of the book ban order is that classroom libraries are basically being shut down to start the school year. Classroom libraries are generally books the teachers have bought since there is no school funding for them, but are there for students to read. However the order requires the books to be entered into a publicly available database and to be reviewed to ensure they comply with the requirements of the order. Teachers don't have time to go and enter all their books into a database at the start of the school year and no one is clear on who the "authority" is that then has to review them all and confirm they are OK. So the direction my wife received is her classroom library has to be off limits until further notice.

What is even the rush? Even if you are hellbent on doing this , what do they think will happen if they leave it 6 months, that hasn't happened in the last 100 years?


How are they all so ####ing stupid? Can y'all just admit she duped you at this point, and we can move on? Amnesty from mocking for everyone stepping up. Ya, ok, even you.

[direwolf]

I still can’t believe we’re actually talking about books being banned in 2025, in a Canadian province. It’s just so f***ing stupid, embarrassing, and absolutely infuriating. This fascist bulls*** needs to stop now. We can’t let them win.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by Torture

Is it also true kids can't bring books into school unless approved somehow so most schools are saying "no outside books"?

That would be a reasonable interpretation. The order includes this statement:
Where during the school day children or students have access to collections of materials, in the school building or otherwise, that are not part of a school library, a school authority staff member must supervise such access to ensure that students do not access materials that they would not otherwise be permitted to access if in a school library:


So I guess that means I can't send my kids to school with a bunch of banned books and tell them to share them with their friends. In fact they can't even bring non-banned books because the school authority staff member (which again no one knows who this is) must supervise them, and unless the government is planning on funding a new position in each classroom that will supervise the kids at all times there won't be anyone available to do that.

[direwolf]

lol, so they’re gonna be checking every kid’s backpack for banned books when they come to school each day? Good luck with that. And yea, that sounds like it would be a full-time position that each school would need to add to their staff.

It would be a shame if a bunch of Bookmobiles stocked up on all the banned books and parked on the street outside every school in Alberta just off school grounds, so that kids could buy them or just walk up and read them for free.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by direwolf

lol, so they’re gonna be checking every kid’s backpack for banned books when they come to school each day? Good luck with that. And yea, that sounds like it would be a full-time position that each school would need to add to their staff.

The newest contraband in school is gonna be a roughly used copy of Curious George and the Birthday Surprise. "Hide it, quick! Before Ms Smith sees it! She might find out what The Surprise is!"

Will a principle be forced to reprimand a student that is reading The Odyssey on their own time, but didn't, like, stash it in the bushes before entering the school? WTF is even going on in this province.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by direwolf

I still can’t believe we’re actually talking about books being banned in 2025, in a Canadian province. It’s just so f***ing stupid, embarrassing, and absolutely infuriating. This fascist bulls*** needs to stop now. We can’t let them win.

I heard a podcast about a recent study - in general people don’t read books very often. I will try to find a link.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/388541/...ooks-past.aspx

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/cr...is-perspective

[Locke]

Originally Posted by troutman

I heard a podcast about a recent study - in general conservatives don’t read books very often. I will try to find a link.

I know a guy who could read the books to them...but, I daresay, dude dresses like a lady...