Book-banning threat needs province-wide response

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2023 (858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s tempting to say “all’s well that ends well” and move on, but it’s not that simple.

As most of you know by now, Brandon received national attention earlier this month after a presentation to the Brandon School Board trustees by former BSD trustee Lorraine Hackenschmidt, in which she argued that books discussing subjects like gender identity and sexual health do not belong in the division’s school libraries.

After linking such books with sexual grooming and pedophilia — a dangerously false allegation — she asked the board to create a committee to review the books in each BSD school library and remove them if the committee deemed them harmful to children.

When Hackenschmidt finished her remarks, she received an ovation from dozens of supporters in the audience. Trustee Breeanna Sieklicki then praised her for her “courage” and urged the audience to support Hackenschmidt at the board’s next meeting on May 23, when the request would be considered.

(Full disclosure: my son, Duncan Ross, is also a Brandon School Board trustee. I am not related to board chairperson Linda Ross. Neither of them congratulated Hackenschmidt.)

During the two weeks that passed between the meeting at which Hackenschmidt appeared and last Tuesday’s meeting, her remarks, Sieklicki’s encouragement and the perceived possibility the BSD board might ban books from school libraries made Brandon the focus of nation-wide attention — unflattering attention no city wants.

All that news coverage increased awareness of how high the stakes were. That explains the massive turnout for last Tuesday’s board meeting, and the very tense atmosphere which dramatically worsened when Peoples Party of Canada leader Max Bernier entered the room and sat with supporters in the crowd. His appearance was loudly jeered.

During the six-hour meeting, more than two dozen presenters recounted the heartbreaking things they, their 2SLGBTQ+ friends, siblings and/or children had endured as BSD students. They each made clear that any decision to remove books with 2SLGBTQ+ content would be perceived as targeting and further stigmatizing 2SLGBTQ+ students, making those kids’ lives even more difficult.

After the presentations were completed, Sieklicki tabled a motion to create the committee Hackenschmidt requested, but the motion died when none of the other trustees would second it. The board then passed a motion (with Sieklicki dissenting) that includes these sentences:

“The Brandon School Division Board of Trustees rejects the call for the formation of a committee of parents and trustees to examine books in our school libraries.

“Respect and safety are for everyone, in every school, however 2SLGBTTQQIA+ people (particularly transgender individuals) typically experience higher rates of harassment, discrimination, suicide, as well as poor mental and physical health outcomes. Creating school environments that respect and affirm gender diversity will empower all students and employees.”

With that strong statement, some might regard the “book banning” issue as having been dealt with once and for all, but that’s not the case. The motion, and the supportive, inclusive message it conveys, can be rescinded or replaced by a simple majority vote of a future board.

There are two BSD board vacancies that will require by-elections this year, and there is a strong possibility that candidates who agree with Hackenschmidt will seek to fill those seats. All it takes is five of the nine trustees’ votes to reverse the motion and form a book-banning committee.

Even if the two by-elections don’t overturn the current consensus at the BSD board table, the board’s next general election is only three years away. It is entirely possible that those who agree with Hackenschmidt will run a slate of candidates.

That’s how fragile the situation is here in Brandon, and for many other school boards throughout Manitoba. It creates the possibility of a checkerboard, in which some school divisions adopt book bans and others don’t.

That’s a risk families with 2SLGBTQ+ children can’t afford.

With the health and well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ students at stake, this is an issue that requires a uniform, province-wide approach. It demands strong, principled leadership from our provincial government, manifested in the form of legislation that explicitly protects all school libraries in Manitoba from the many would-be book-banners (and burners) in our province.

With a provincial election just four months away, which political party is prepared to provide that leadership?

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@gmail.com Twitter: @deverynross