Committee delegates draw councillors into book-banning debate
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2023 (303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A call to ban books with sexual content from public libraries or remove them from children’s sections sparked some heated debate at city hall Wednesday.
Several delegates at Wednesday’s community services committee meeting urged councillors to ban the books or relegate them to adult or young-adult sections in libraries.
The books included such titles as It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris and Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human (A Graphic Novel) by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.
Delegates argued the books contain explicit sexual content.
“We don’t find porno magazines in the library… we wouldn’t want our libraries to be full of that kind of material … These books fall into the same category. There’s very, very illicit sexual acts in them and they’re geared towards children,” said Rick Dyck, a riding director for the People’s Party of Canada.
The discussion has triggered heated debate across Manitoba. Brandon School Division recently rejected calls to remove, or at least review, similar books from its library, after an impassioned community response emerged against the change. In that case, supporters of the books expressed concern the opponents aimed to remove and exclude LGBTTQ+ content, including transgender content, which sparked an outcry to reject the ban.
Wednesday’s city hall debate on the matter sparked some calls for restraint after some delegates alleged the books’ treatment of child sexuality broke the law and after Coun. Russ Wyatt bluntly rejected any talk of a ban.
“When it comes to banning books, I try to leave that… to the neo-Nazis of the world,” said Wyatt.
The councillor’s comment came after he remarked that sex education has become more inclusive, which supported his own family.
“When my son was (in) Grade 5, I came out as a gay man and had to explain this to him and he responded to me, ‘I’ve already learned all that’…. That was the grace of the public education system,” said Wyatt.
The debate emerged despite the fact a book ban was not on the committee’s agenda Wednesday. Speakers who veered into the topic signed up to speak about library services or library safety.
Some simply urged the committee to ensure all sex-education books are not accessible to kids but moved to a library section that serves patrons aged 16 and older.
Judy Slaa told the committee she supports sex education but is concerned some books offer details about sexting, anal intercourse and other content not appropriate for kids.
“I’m asking you to improve the screening process so books that deal with sexual content will be placed in a proper category,” said Slaa.
Former mayoral candidate Don Woodstock told the committee having overtly sexual images in books could put kids at risk.
“There’s no excuse for the over-sexualization of children in the name of education,” said Woodstock.
Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of the community services committee, said the complaints were misdirected. He urged folks to report their concerns about the content of books to the Winnipeg Public Library Board and pass on any legal concerns to police.
“We have our opinion that, legally, this is fine under the charter of human rights,” said Orlikow.
A former Winnipeg School Division trustee, Orlikow said the discussion took him back to the complaints that arose when schools originally sought to add sex education to curriculum.
“It reminded me today… in the old days of school boards when we brought in sex ed. Some people just really didn’t like it and they used a lot of the same language that I’m hearing today. But, again, it went forward because we knew it’s harm reduction, some kids need to know,” said Orlikow.
Multiple delegates pushing for tighter restrictions on the books Wednesday stressed their concerns were not specific to LGBTTQ+ content.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics is involved. Joyanne became the city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press in early 2020.