A Brandon woman, who called for a committee to review and possibly pull certain LGBTQ+ and sex education books from school library shelves, has sparked both outrage and some approval.
Lorraine Hackenschmidt told the school division’s board of trustees on May 8th, “We must protect our children from sexual grooming and pedophilia”, and targeted two books in particular – “Being Jazz” and “It’s perfectly normal.” They explore LGBTQ+ and sex education topics, and are available in libraries across the province.
Hackenschmidt requested the school board create a committee to examine and remove books she called “harmful” for children. She said “I just ask that you would remove any books that cause our kids to question whether they are in the wrong body.”
Ashley Smith with Winnipeg’s Rainbow Resource Centre told Global News, “Queer content does not make queer youth, and there is plenty of research to support that, that queer youth are in the midst of a mental health crisis with alarmingly high suicide rates.”
Candy Jones, who chairs Brandon University’s department of curriculum and pedagogy, told Global that “libraries and schools have an obligation to meet the needs of the entire community.”
Global News also reports that the president of the Manitoba Library Association Melanie Sucha says the push to censor library materials is also offensive to their professional values. “Not only are we seeing an affront to intellectual freedom and the freedom to read, but we are seeing this challenge to materials very much as a veil to propagate an anti-LGBTQIA position, and we see it as discriminatory and bigoted.”
Brandon School Division issued a statement Thursday saying the books were still available at its libraries. Hackenschmidt got a standing ovation from her supporters after her presentation Monday.
In a release, the Board of Trustees of the Brandon School Division said “it encourages the public to attend Board Meetings. The procedural structure of public school board meetings are designed to facilitate public participation.
Any individual may submit written correspondence which can be included in the “Presentations and Communications” section of a regularly scheduled Board Meeting.
To have a letter included on the agenda at an upcoming Board Meeting, please address it to the Chairperson of the Board and submit via email to: info@bsd.ca
Additionally, any resident elector of the division has the right to be placed on the agenda of a regular board meeting to be heard under “Delegations and Petitions.” Any individual wishing to speak as a delegation is required to provide their name and address as well as the name of the group they represent.
Following the presentation, individual trustees may ask questions for clarification. The Board of Trustees will respond to the presentation at the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting. This procedural structure provides all constituents with the opportunity to share their perspectives with the Board and to be heard by the Board in a timely fashion.
Brandon School Division Trustees share information, discuss and debate ideas in a public forum. With the aim of promoting transparency, this is regularly achieved during open portions of scheduled Board meetings.
With regard to the recent delegation during the May 8th Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees will discuss and provide a response to this presentation during the “Business Arising” portion of the agenda at the next Board Meeting on May 23, 2023.
Members of the public wishing to make a presentation, appear as a delegation or send a petition at the May 23, 2023 Board Meeting are asked to contact:
Office of the Secretary-Treasurer Email: info@bsd.ca Phone: 204-729-3115 no later than 12:00 pm on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
In anticipation of a large public presence, our meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 23, 2023 will be held in the gymnasium at Vincent Massey High School, 715 McDiarmid Drive, beginning at 7:00 pm.
All of our meetings are open to the public. If you are unable to attend in person, please join us live online at https://www.bsd.ca/page/8192/board-meeting-dates-live-streaming. “
