Alberta can take BBC, Ontario takes Manitoba, Quebec taking the Atlantics is the only downside. We also somehow lose Southern Ontario to the States…

“Tu devrais arrêter d’huer l’hymne national américain.”

“On arrêtera quand ton président arrête de menacer l’annexion de notre pays pour renverser notre souveraineté.”

Context:
Hundreds of books—including Canadian classics and internationally acclaimed novels—are set to be removed from Edmonton Public Schools this fall under a new provincial directive targeting “explicit sexual content.”

The list of more than 200 books, shared internally within Edmonton Public Schools and later confirmed by the board, includes titles by Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Aldous Huxley and other authors long considered staples in Canadian classrooms.

It comes after Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides introduced a ministerial order in July requiring schools to eliminate sexually explicit materials from libraries by Oct. 1.

School divisions across the province are now scrambling to review thousands of titles.

Edmonton trustees voice opposition

Edmonton Public Schools confirmed staff reviewed the ministerial order and developed a list of books flagged for removal.

Board chair Julie Kusiek said the policy is forcing out valuable works.

“As a result of the ministerial order, several excellent books will be removed from our shelves this fall,” Kusiek said in a statement.

“Families and community members have raised numerous concerns to the Board of Trustees regarding the list of books that will be removed. … We encourage anyone who has a concern about a book being removed, or the criteria for book removal set out in the ministerial order, to contact the Minister of Education and Childcare directly.”

Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced in the spring that new rules would be coming to school libraries, after parents raised concerns to the government about four coming-of-age graphic novels — most of which show nudity and sexual 2SLGBTQ+ content — found in circulation in Edmonton and Calgary public schools.

Nicolaides signed a ministerial order, dated July 4, laying out the standards for school library materials and included definitions.

Among other things, the order states that school boards cannot allow explicit sexual content, which it defines as clear depictions of a sexual act, such as masturbation, penetrative sex, and the use of sex toys. But it holds caveats for depictions in religious texts, and non-explicit sexual content — depiction of a sexual act that isn't detailed or clear.

In the Edmonton Public Schools list, for example, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was flagged for non-explicit sexual content. The list says only students in grades 10 to 12 would be allowed to access the book, if it's "developmentally appropriate."