National

Alberta government pauses ban on school library books with sex content

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Sep, 2025 12:25 PM

Alberta's education minister is directing school boards to pause a government order to remove books with explicit sexual content from libraries.

Demetrios Nicolaides says in an email to school divisions and officials that they should pause any development or distribution of lists of books that are to be removed.

He says the pause is in effect until further notice.

A draft list from Edmonton Public Schools of books to be removed from libraries was leaked online last week.

It contains more than 200 titles, including Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," which prompted the author to condemn Premier Danielle Smith online over the weekend.

Smith has said the Edmonton school division was too heavy handed in crafting its list and criticized it for not following the government's intention with the policy.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Elections BC looks at Conservative complaint of improper voting at recovery facility

British Columbia's election agency is reviewing a complaint of irregularities in a riding where a narrow NDP victory in last October's election gave the party a one-seat majority, with Conservative Leader John Rustad highlighting allegations related to improper mail-in voting at an addiction recovery facility.

Elections BC looks at Conservative complaint of improper voting at recovery facility

Backbench Ottawa MP Chandra Arya to run for Liberal leadership

Ontario MP Chandra Arya is the second Liberal to announce he wants to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal party. Arya posted on social media Thursday morning he wants to campaign on running a "small, more efficient government" and on offering "bold political decisions" to solve the country's problems.

Backbench Ottawa MP Chandra Arya to run for Liberal leadership

Ukrainian-Canadians urge ongoing support for country amid political shifts

At a meeting in Germany on Thursday of the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group, Defence Minister Bill Blair announced details of $440 million in Canadian funding for Ukraine promised earlier this year.

Ukrainian-Canadians urge ongoing support for country amid political shifts

'On the front line': Quebec planes and B.C. helicopters battle L.A. wildfires

Pascal Duclos, head pilot for the Quebec government's aerial service, said he spent several hours in the air on Tuesday, dumping dozens of loads of water over fire-devastated areas from his plane.

'On the front line': Quebec planes and B.C. helicopters battle L.A. wildfires

Critical incident review launched into death of man who waited in Winnipeg ER

The Manitoba government says a review is being launched into the death of a man who waited eight hours in a Winnipeg emergency department, but it's not clear how much of the review will be made public. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says a critical incident review will look at what happened after the man was brought by ambulance to the Health Sciences Centre early Tuesday morning.

Critical incident review launched into death of man who waited in Winnipeg ER

B.C. orders masks for hospitals, care facilities as flu, respiratory illness increase

Medical masks are again required in British Columbia health-care facilities as provincial authorities say cases of respiratory illness are rising. A statement from B.C.'s Health Ministry says workers, volunteers and visitors in facilities operated by provincial health authorities must wear masks in areas where patients are receiving care in order to prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and COVID-19.