On August 28, an internal Edmonton Public Schools memo was leaked to the public. It contained the list of more than 200 books that the Edmonton Public School Board will be pulling from K-12 school libraries as a result of the Government of Alberta’s ministerial order regarding book collections in school libraries. On that list are acclaimed novels that have often been taught in schools, including The Lesser Blessed by Alberta writer Richard Van Camp, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Dozens of young adult novels are also included. We can expect similar lists from other school boards to be released in the coming days and weeks.
As the WGA Board said in response to the government’s release of its “Standards for the Selection, Availability, and Access of School Library Materials” in July, an attack on readers’ and writers’ fundamental right to freedom of expression will have real consequences. Compliant with the order, the list compiled by EPSB clearly demonstrates those consequences. Through their actions, both the Alberta Government and EPSB are now in the process of banning books and have failed to protect the intellectual freedom of students and their parents. They have also failed to protect writers’ rights to freedom of expression and many writers both here in Alberta and around the world will be silenced in our schools and absent from curricula.
It is vital that all orders of government and our public institutions condemn and resist censorship, not enable it. The WGA Board strongly urges both the Government of Alberta and EPSB to revisit and rescind their decisions and stand up for the democratic rights of all readers and writers.
Full list of books can be found here.
The WGA Board of Directors