For 49 years, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre has promoted the reading, purchasing, and borrowing of Canadian books for kids and teens. We celebrate diverse stories and believe in the power of reading to enrich the lives of young people.
Along with many librarians, educators, caregivers, writers, and civic-minded Canadians, we are deeply concerned with the Government of Alberta’s Ministerial Order 30/2025.
Students deserve access to age-relevant reading materials, including young adult novels that explore issues of sex, sexuality, consent, and healthy relationships. All students need to find their stories, identities, and experiences reflected in the books in their school library. While a certain book might not be a good fit for one student, it can be life-affirming for another. This sweeping and vague ministerial order risks the removal of many diverse and inclusive books and disproportionately targets 2SLGBTQIA+ stories.
This ministerial order targets the works of acclaimed and award-winning Canadian writers such as Abdi Nazemian, David A. Robertson, Mariko Tamaki, Richard Van Camp, and Xiran Jay Zhao, to name only a few. When Canadian creators tell their stories, they capture experiences unique to the cultures, identities, and geographies that make up our country. Every student should have the opportunity to read books created by Canadian authors.
We also express our concern that this ministerial order risks infringing on the rights and freedoms guaranteed to students in Canada. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Canada is a signatory, is clear: “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice”.
We urge the Government of Alberta to rescind Ministerial Order 030/2025. Please leave decisions regarding school library materials to the experts: librarians, educators, caregivers, and students.
Stephanie Wells
Executive Director
The Canadian Children's Book Centre
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