If Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams’ scheme to ban books in public libraries is intended as way to distract voters from the deluge of uncomplimentary Globe and Mail stories about the United Conservative Government’s metastasizing dodgy health care contracts scandal, he might want to pick another distraction.
Public libraries are among the most beloved public institutions and recent Canadian history shows attacks on them, whether they’re efforts to interfere with the rights of readers to read like Mr. Williams’ gambit, or defunding their operations, ever popular with right-wing city councils, come with considerable political risk.
Mr. Williams’ plan to make it difficult for borrowers read books he doesn’t approve of – starting with graphic novels that mention sexuality but ending up God knows where – was introduced in the Legislative Assembly as part of Bill 28, the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, the Thursday before the holiday weekend.
It’s hard to say for sure, but the library additions to the act didn’t have the look or sound of a considered policy change. Rather, they had the sloppy feel of something scratched out on an envelope and tossed into the bill in to give the government’s critics something else to talk about while energizing the UCP’s base, always on the alert for anything with a prefix like trans in it.
Yesterday, the reaction to the UCP bill from a variety of quarters began to hit the proverbial fan.
In a letter to Mr. Williams and Premier Danielle Smith, the Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries raised a list of concerns with the Bill 28, and requested the government go back to the drawing board and come up with a more sensible approach.
“Albertans trust their public libraries,” Pilar Martinez, CEO of the Edmonton Public Library, said politely in a news release published by CAP Libraries about the letter. “Bill 28 creates new barriers to access, moves decision-making from local boards and trained professionals, and raises privacy concerns. Taken together, these changes undermine a system that communities across Alberta rely on and value.”
Also, as retired St. Albert Public Library CEO Peter Bailey said in this space on Wednesday, it’s an effort by the government to gin up a moral panic with no basis in reality whatsoever. “There is absolutely no evidence for the government’s assertions,” he stated a little more bluntly.
The CAP Libraries release also quoted Parkland Regional Library System Director Ron Shepherd saying something the UCP should really attend to. “Rural and regional libraries are deeply concerned about Bill 28,” he said. “If passed, this bill would undermine access to information, local decision-making, and the privacy of Albertans.”
“Library staff work every day to support families and respect parental responsibility,” Mr. Shepherd added. “Bill 28 would place library workers in gatekeeping roles that don’t reflect how public libraries operate and would make everyday service far more difficult for communities across Alberta.”
In its letter, CAP Libraries asked the minister to consult with libraries first before it tries to fix something that ain’t necessarily even broke. (My words, not theirs, of course.) It also asked for the government to reduce barriers to access instead of creating more, to recognize that libraries are already paying attention to concerns about age-appropriate materials, and to come up with funding whenever the government makes new operational demands.
In a statement on Instagram yesterday, CUPE Alberta, which represents many public library workers throughout the province, said Mr. Williams’ plan is “unnecessary, unworkable, and creates more problems than it solves.”
“This means that adults would be forced to talk to library staff members just for permission to borrow these materials,” the short video says.
“We’re not book bouncers and we don’t check ID at the doors,” said the library worker in the clip. “Bill 28 will require the physical segregation of library materials that the government deems explicit. This bill goes far beyond children’s materials and extends to both our teen and adult collections, including art history books, magazines, movies, TV shows and video games, which all would have to be stored within an area of the library that is inaccessible to the public.”
Of course, this may or may not be the intention of the government’s vaguely worded legislation. Who can tell? But libraries that anger patrons by following the government’s instructions risk having the same government accuse them “vicious compliance,” as Premier Smith did when her government enacted similar regulations last year for school libraries and Edmonton Public Schools’ list included more than 200 titles, including works by esteemed authors like Margaret Atwood and George Orwell.
As Edmonton City Councillor Michael Janz said on his website: “Restricting access to library materials constitutes censorship, regardless of whether items remain physically present in library buildings.”
“Might I remind you, children are not to be left unattended in the library,” the Ward papastew councillor added pithily. “So the premise of this whole problem the province is trying to ‘solve’ is flawed. Perhaps it is a distraction from the Alberta health care procurement scandal?”
As a result, Edmonton City Council will consider a motion by Ward Anirniq Councillor Erin Rutherford at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Janz indicated he is prepared to second the motion. The motion will:
- Express concern about the impact of the bill on local governance, library operations, access to library materials, patron privacy, and quality of library services in Edmonton
- Affirm council’s confidence in the Edmonton Public Library Board and its professional staff to manage library collections
- Call on the government to engage in “direct, structured consultation with the Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries, municipalities, and library boards” before finalizing any new regulations
- Tell the government to ensure operational requirements imposed on public libraries by legislation are accompanied by dedicated provincial funding
- Direct city officials to send a copy of this resolution to Mr. Williams, Premier Smith, local MLAs, Alberta Municipalities, and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta.
