Book ban voted down at Brandon school board meeting
The Brandon School Division will not be removing books with LGBTQ2S+ content.
This news comes after trustees heard a presentation earlier this month, which requested the division create a committee to ban certain books with LGBTQ2S+ topics from school libraries. Since the presentation, the school division received 289 emails and letters, the majority of which were opposed to the committee.
On Tuesday night, the gymnasium of Vincent Massey High School in Brandon was packed with residents as a debate waged on whether or not to remove books with LGBTQ2S+ content from school libraries.
Jason Foster, a high school student who identifies as a transgender male, was one of 31 delegates at Tuesday night’s meeting. He spoke on his experience with criticism regarding his sexuality, the harshest of which encouraged suicide.
“It’s not great,” he says. “But at this point in my life, where I’ve had all those things said to me, it doesn’t affect me anymore.
The vast majority of speakers were overwhelmingly against banning books, including parents, library administrators, teachers, and other members of the community.
Presenters in favour of the ban were sparse, with only one presenter directly in favour of the ban. Other correspondence with the Brandon School Division was read out at the beginning of the meeting.
“Hoping and praying long and often. Please stand for what is right and ban the books,” trustee chairperson Linda Ross read one example. “I truly believe that there’s a concerning number of books that should not be available for small kids.”
Positive reception from the community was overwhelming to Aly Wowchuk, chairperson of Brandon Pride.
“We have a very small group of volunteers, and we put on Pride Week every year,” Wowchuk says. “And just the absolute amount of people reaching out asking questions, like how they can be a better ally in situations like these. It’s really, really heartwarming just to have the community band together.”
Discussion and reactions to the delegations by trustees took place at the end of the meeting, in which many trustees expressed support for the LGBTQ2S+ community in Brandon.
Some noted before the vote that they would not be supporting of the ban.
Ultimately, the board voted against creating a committee to ban books in school libraries, with a vote of 6-1 with two trustees absent.
- With files from CTV’s Danton Unger.
Correction
This is a corrected story. The initial story had the final vote among trustees as 5-1, when it was actually 6-1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.