We are a concerned group of parents, and grandparents of children in the Peel District School Board and local residents, opposed to the purging of library books whose only sin is being published prior to 2008. Removing books with wear and tear is logical, but the arbitrary relegation of books to the dumpster for simply being old is abhorrent.

 

Apparently to comply with the Ministry of Education’s directives* to PDSB, which are intended to improve relations within the Peel classrooms, Peel administration’s interpretation of this directive is a purging of almost all material published before 2008 from their libraries. These materials are not to be accessed by anyone; rather they are to be sent to landfills. According to the Peel directive, all are “…inherently racist, classist, heteronormative, and/or sexist” (p. 11) Further, the purged materials are not to be replaced with newer editions for they “…perpetuate harm and oppression.” (p.8)- essentially, any material written before 2008 is forbidden.