Business owners push to defund southern Manitoba libraries over book content accused of being 'pornographic'
CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2023 10:00 AM | Last Updated: July 20, 2023
Local parent worries ongoing divide over library battle ‘has become a bit of a chasm’ in city of Winkler
Some southern Manitoba business owners are petitioning their municipal governments to defund the area's libraries over claims they have "pornographic" books on their shelves — the latest in a months-long saga that has included calls for the removal of sex education books.
Mike Urichuk, a father and teacher in the city of Winkler, Man., said while it's healthy for people to have different opinions, the latest efforts to cut funding to the area's South Central Regional Library system are fuelling a sense of distrust and division in the community that started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"When we let ignorance win out, when we have these half truths win out, we get these divisions that are irreconcilable," Urichuk said.
"It's healthy to challenge your own beliefs — but what used to be a divide has become a bit of a chasm."
A recent petition that circulated in several southern Manitoba communities urged business owners to "say no to your tax dollars funding pornographic and sexually explicit books being made available to children and youth."
It also professed that the library system, which is a network of five branches in southern Manitoba communities, has committed "continued criminal acts" by "distributing materials that contain pornography … and instruct on the sexual touching of minors."
The petition comes amid growing battles over book content, including at libraries in the southwestern Manitoba city of Brandon, across Canada and south of the border.
The document's pages show just over 250 signatures from between January and April — though some people appear to have signed it more than once.
It was made public this month after being submitted to several municipal councils in the area, including Winkler.
Crystal Funk, who lives in the nearby community of Gretna, Man., said she was among those who gathered signatures for the petition, and delivered it to councils herself.
Funk said she wants to see the titles she takes issue with removed from the library's collection — a request she said she wouldn't characterize as banning or censoring books.
"I'm just an individual who is concerned, along with many other individuals who are concerned, about what is being made available to our children," she said.
Funk said one of the books she wants pulled from the shelves is Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.
The graphic novel includes sketches that include depictions of genitals, intercourse and masturbation.
She said that book was one of the main titles petitioners showed people photocopies of in a bid to get their signatures.
While the petition itself doesn't mention any specific titles, similar efforts at the same library in recent months have focused on sex education books and titles with LGBTQ themes aimed at kids and teens.
Some in support, others feel duped
Dina Harder, who owns a Winkler clothing boutique, said she hasn't heard any negative feedback from customers about the fact that she signed the petition — and she doesn't expect to.
"Will it affect me? I hope not, since I do sell clothing to more mature women. And they would be very much on board with my way of thinking," said Harder, who added she signed the petition after a group of "concerned mothers" brought it to her.
Joe Rempel, who owns a flower shop in downtown Winkler, said he signed the petition when someone brought it into his store as a way "to get the problem out of the door" quickly — which he said he regrets doing after being "taken aback" when he learned more about its aims.
"The person that was here with the petition was quite — I wouldn't say necessarily pushy, but they did put me on the spot in front of other customers," Rempel said, adding he was shown photocopies from a book that he now believes were taken out of context and used for shock value.
"So I personally made a mistake and signed this without doing as much due diligence as I should have."
He said he's also spoken to another business owner in the area who had a similar experience signing the petition.
Council moves to 'exert influence'
While the signed papers were submitted to Winkler council as a general petition — meaning there was no requirement to act on it — the city's councillors did pass a resolution to address concerns about library content at the same July 11 meeting where the petition was submitted.
That resolution means council will appoint two members to the library's board "to exert influence … to create policy whereby graphically sexually explicit books be moved from the children's section to another section of the library, as appropriate."
Those appointees included Coun. Don Fehr, who was among the business owners who signed the petition.
"After all the meetings that we've had and discussions that we've had on this, this resolution I think resonates a good path to follow as far as helping maintain a library that is very well-attended and one that has good roots," Fehr told council after seconding the resolution to pass.
In a written statement sent to CBC on Thursday morning, Fehr said Winkler councillors, "including myself, do not want to defund the library or ban books," and that councillors "want to work on policy and maintain a healthy relationship with our library partners."
He also said that when asked by council to take on the role of library board representative, he agreed with the understanding that "as per any other board appointments, I would follow all board governance that aligns with the library while still speaking on council's behalf."
The community of Winkler includes "many races, cultures and religions from all over the world," Fehr's statement said, and "council will listen to all of these groups and base our leadership decisions to have a positive impact for future generations."
Images from Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being A Human (These photos contain drawings and descriptions of genitalia and sexual acts):
Meanwhile, Winkler resident Urichuk said the petition has become a way for him to decide which local businesses he wants to support. He said he's already used it when deciding who to hire for recent electrical and plumbing jobs and where to go out to eat, to make sure he doesn't give his money to any businesses whose owners signed the petition.
"I'm not sure what my thoughts are going to be going forward long-term, knowing that some businesses had been misguided with misinformation — but I do know that for right now, I'm going to play it safe," he said.