“Sorry kids, even the books from your own backpack need Premier’s approval first.”
Book Banning in Alberta Is a Dangerous Path Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently called the Edmonton Public School Board’s removal of books “vicious compliance.” She said she would hold the school board’s hand to get it right. These actions raise serious concerns about censorship in schools. At the news conference she held to criticize the school board, Smith appeared to mock their compliance while also offering to oversee their decisions about which books can stay in libraries and classrooms. The message is clear. This is not a freedom of choice or local oversight. This is control from the top. When lawmakers allow governments to determine what children can read, it has deep historical roots. Book banning in Nazi Germany targeted authors who challenged state power. Schools were stripped of works by Einstein, Kafka, and many others. The Soviet Union also suppressed books that did not fit state ideology. In the 1950s America experienced another wave of censorship. During the Cold War era, books by black authors, civil rights leaders, and political radicals were often banned in school libraries. These bans were a tool to suppress dissent. They told the next generation what they should not think or question. Alberta’s ban is aimed at books with sexual content. But critics are concerned that it targets LGBTQ topics and suppresses marginalized voices. Margaret Atwood warned of rising threats to expression. She said she cannot remember a time when words themselves felt under such threat. That warning should not be ignored. When governments restrict what children read, they walk a dangerous path toward authoritarianism. Thought control, even if it starts with books, leads to less debate and more repression. Schools should not be battlegrounds for censorship. We must push back against banning books in public education. We cannot trade curiosity for control. Our children deserve access to diverse ideas and stories. Sources Global News, Margaret Atwood takes aim at Alberta’s school library books ban with satirical story https://www.globalnews.ca/news/11358174/margaret-atwood-takes-aim-at-albertas-school-library-books-ban-with-satirical-story/ The Guardian, Banned the 20 books they did not want you to read https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/23/banned-the-20-books-they-didnt-want-you-to-read The Guardian, Margaret Atwood says she cannot remember another time words themselves have felt under such threat https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/12/margaret-atwood-words-under-threat-freedom-to-publish-british-book-awards Yahoo News (via Global News), Alberta premier criticizes Edmonton schools’ banned book list https://ca.news.yahoo.com/edmonton-public-removing-more-200-151745127.html
