Fighting Book Bans

These book bans are wasting staff time and resources while harming students.

The deeply unpopular book order from Danielle Smith ostensibly removes "age- inappropriate" materials from school libraries. The truth is, books that touch on mature subject matter have no harmful effects on readers, even accidental ones. For one thing, it's very easy to stop reading! For another, school library collections are already curated by librarians.

The ban has already targeted books with queer content. The purpose is to stop non queer children from understanding who they are, and from finding out that they are not alone in this world. LGBTQIA+ children are at higher risk of suicide due to social factors such as bullying and social isolation.

There is no scientific or sociological research supporting the conclusion that children should be barred from reading "troubling" or "difficult" books, and in fact, a very large body of evidence suggesting the opposite is true. In fact, accessing such books, especially with guidance, can foster resilience and healing, especially for children who've already experienced trauma. 

Fighting Ministerial Orders 27 and 29

These orders put children at risk of bullying, abuse, trauma, and suicide.

Order 27 mandates that minors are no longer allowed to use preferred names or nicknames, or different pronouns, without signed parental consent. This clearly violates the Charter rights of children, and exposes vulnerable queer teens to danger from abusive parents.

Order 29 codifies that in order to belong to an exclusively girls' sports team, children have to prove they were assigned female at birth. There is a specific clause that allows other parents, coaches, etc to bring forward challenges to a child's gender, which must be rebutted with proof on the birth certificate.

Allegedly, there are sanctions for "bad faith" challenges, but there's no such thing as a good faith challenge to a child's gender. This law legalizes "transvestigation," invasive gender scrutiny of individuals, and institutionalizes bullying. That will lead to trauma and possibly teen suicides. This bill will have a body count.

As an intersex person, people like me are subjected to scrutiny for our hormone levels and other traits to a truly invasive and unnecessary degree. Children are not professional athletes, and setting aside the archaic and often unnecessary gender segregation and invasions that professional athletes are subjected to, expecting children to undergo the same scrutiny is a recipe for trauma and bullying. Pretending that separate groups for trans kids, as though transgender people have a uniform gender and experience, is truly absurd. 

Curtailing the Use of Generative AI in Education

Children are our future and we need to protect them from the untrusted dangers and lies of Generative AI platforms. Generative AI such as ChatGPT and Claude are known to “hallucinate”, to make up misinformation. Children do not have the critical thinking skills needed to recognize when they are being lied to by technology.

I would like to ban the use of Generative AI in creating lesson plans and other materials, as well as a ban on the use of chatbots on school computers. Generative AI is an environmentally detrimental technological scam that provides dangerous, false information and has already led to the deaths of vulnerable and depressed people, including children. It also poses an unknown health risk (re: psychosis).

It is also important to me that students are taught critical thinking skills, especially regarding Generative AI. While we can limit the use of chatbots on school computers, we also need students to understand why. Students need to be explicitly taught how unreliable these tools are, and the social and environmental costs of these technologies.

Fighting Segregation of Disabled Students

Segregating disabled students is extremely damaging for both non-disabled and disabled students. For one thing, it increases stigma and alienation of disabled students, and marginalizes them. While I realise that students with disabilities may have higher needs, shoving them out of sight and out of mind is not the way to address those needs - and it's actively deleterious to the perspectives of other children and students.

Community Gardens and Solar Panels on Every School

As part of an effort to make our schools more sustainable and connect children to the food supply chain, I want every school to have a community garden. Time in nature has been shown to improve mental health for adults and children. By putting solar panels on rooftops, I also want to help cut power bills for schools and build momentum for sustainable energy in the province.

Working Towards Truth and Reconciliation

I do not believe that we adequately address or educate children in Alberta about the history and ongoing actions of genocide against our Indigenous residents. As a school trustee board member, I will be advocating for greater community involvement and outreach for our Blackfoot/Niitsitapi and other Indigenous groups, and greater focus on their contributions and experiences in the curriculum.