Alberta
UCP book ban evokes “vicious compliance” — and a pause
When a group of parents brought the existence of four graphic novels available in school libraries to Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides’ attention, he claimed that his government must remove them to protect six-year olds from ever figuring out which two pages out of 500, available in the young adult section, show sexually explicit drawings.
It didn’t matter that these books were considered age appropriate for “mature teens”, their very existence in a school library that six-year olds might have access to was, according to the Minister, more than enough to demand immediate government intervention without getting any input from school boards about how libraries work.
What happened next was something that conservatives themselves regularly claim is the most likely outcome when government gets involved: they made a big old mess.
Initially, Mr. Nicolaides stuck to the fact that the “offending” works contained graphic, if hand drawn, images that were inappropriate for “elementary school children” or “five and six-year olds.” It required the Minister, and Premier, to refuse to acknowledge that the books were neither recommended for, nor to, said six-year olds.
Armed with nothing but the shock value of a couple of images, the UCP government leapt into action, devising a ministerial order that outlined “the Standards” by which all books in school libraries must adhere.
Despite the fact that they were supposedly only after graphic images in a couple of books, the Ministerial Order defined “depiction” as “a written passage, illustration, photographic of digital image, video or audio file.”
It goes further to detail what depictions are inappropriate and it’s pretty much anything that the character (because these are stories) becomes aroused by; even an inadvertent touch.
The number one argument I’ve seen is “why would books that include these descriptions need to be available, ever, in a school library?” For those who may have completely blacked out their teen years this may come as a shock: teenagers are still having sex.
They still masturbate, they still think about sex, and fantasize about sex, and they are still having sex with each other, too.
And no matter how many times the special interest groups or the UCP wants to shock people with two pages out of these books, it’s not going to stop teenagers from having sex, or knowing about sex, or talking about sex, or thinking about sex.
These books were recommended for mature teens, they were deemed developmentally appropriate for mature teens, and they were available to mature teens — if we only allow school libraries to have books that are appropriate for six-year olds, it won’t be much use to anyone else.
The order goes on to state that books meeting the above criteria must not be available in a school library. Not “unavailable to six-year olds,” but very specifically not to be made available in a school library.
When the Edmonton Public School District board compiled a list of around 200 books that would meet “the Standards” for removal from school libraries, the Premier suggested the problem was theirs. They didn’t understand what the Ministerial Order meant.
As usual, the only person who seems to not have a clue what’s going on in the government she was elected to lead is Danielle Smith.
Early Tuesday, the government announced a pause on the book ban, without details.
One of these days, they’ll not get a chance to ask questions after the shoot the place up.
Alberta teachers may be locked out after UCP makes “final offer”
Apparently, the UCP’s final offer was the same as their first offer, which teachers already rejected in the spring.
I’m not going to argue the details; let’s just look at the facts.
Alberta has one of the most celebrated education outcomes and it’s because of teachers. Our students consistently rank in the highest percentiles in standardized testing and it’s because of teachers. Teachers are also strong advocates of not banning books, and while I would love to think the UCP came to their senses on that, it was something that the teachers were ready to put their backs into on top of everything else.
Our government funds “choice in education” at the expense of public schools. Our government made an effort to increase the province’s population without making plans to accommodate more students with needed infrastructure like schools until we were already further behind. Our government wants to use their incompetence in managing public finances as an excuse to deny schools, and teachers, proper funding.
If the teachers strike, it will be because our government is too busy making wish lists to bother with their responsibilities.
Fund the schools, fund our students, fund Alberta’s future.
Whatever keeps the focus off your head
One of my favourite lines from Liar Liar is when the receptionist asks Jim Carrey’s character, Fletcher Reede, if he likes her new dress. She has some wild starfish braids going on and he replies “whatever keeps the focus off your head!”
This is how I think of conservatives constantly feeding Alberta’s obsession with equalization. If they can keep Albertans staring longingly at their federal tax dollars and asking why more isn’t spent here, they won’t be asking why the government of Alberta can’t meet its own responsibilities. Psychological manipulation is bad, sure, but it’s just so fascinating to watch play out, and reliably obtain the desired results, over, and over, and over again.
Like watching a replay of some dude getting smacked in the scrotum. That’s Alberta, in, ahem, a nutshell.
It also makes me think that the $6.5 billion deficit the province is on track for this fiscal year is going to get much worse. Finance Minister Nate Horner says it’s because of oil price fluctuations and Donald Trump’s targeting of the Canadian economy. No matter what, it isn’t because of the government’s desire to bribe voters by giving them tax cuts the province cannot afford.
Obviously, that’s why the Premier wants us looking elsewhere — anywhere else but the province’s fiscal house.
At the UCP’s inaugural convention in 2018, tax cuts were on the agenda. I remember being somewhat surprised to hear some members saying that the province couldn’t afford tax cuts because it was $80 billion in debt. The resolution to deliver more tax cuts passed anyway.
In 2022, during the UCP’s leadership race, Danielle Smith claimed she understood that the province’s finances were a mess. She noted that if we had to use half of the royalty income from 2021 — the first year we finally hit the long anticipated payout — then we needed to recognize that meant Alberta had a structural deficit of some $12 billion.
What she didn’t say is that we should focus on Quebec.
As many have pointed out, the federal government could get rid of the equalization formula today and it would make zero difference to Alberta’s finances. The reason that every other province and territory in the country has a sales tax is because they need to fund their services. The reason every other province and territory in the country has far higher progressive tax rates is because they need to fund their services. For some reason I’ve never understood, every other constituency in this country is willing to pay for their services, except this one.
We claim to care deeply about fiscal responsibility but we don’t act like it; and I think it’s because too many of us are not invested Alberta.
For decades, we had the youngest average population in the country because people came here to work, make good money, and get out. Even Danielle Smith was on her way out before she made her last ditch effort at a political career. And what do you get with a population who votes for the good time, not a long time? A government that doesn’t plan for the future and a voting bloc that won’t let it.
If you listen closely, you can hear who actually cares about the future of this province and they aren’t the ones telling us to look away.
Well we know for a fact Mrs Moretta blames the Edmonton group for factually interpreting her mandate (that law school education pays off again, whoops forgot her degree was economics not law).
And that anyone but her is responsible for the economy here( see that economics degree at work).
The next time she steps up to the plate, tells the truth and accepts responsibility will be the first time.
My offer still stands. I’ll personally pay for her moving expenses south of the border to stop this shit show.
She’s yet to do one thing that benefits all Albertans so beholding as she is to her base. I’d like to suggest a resignation. I think I can speak for about 4.95 million Albertans here that would be the one thing she could do to please us. Me at least!
The point of “people being in Alberta for a good time, not a long time” explains a lot. It also offers the insight for new resolutions that could be successful.