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The following was an exchange in the BC legislature a little less than two years ago. The question is being asked by MLA Banman. 

BC MLA. Banman: I stand here today as a distraught father and grandfather. I stand here with parents in Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about sexually graphic and explicit content available in certain fictional books within our public school libraries to children as young as 11 years of age. 

I would ask that the House brace themselves for the following words from one such book, called Eleanor & Park: “I know you’re a ****. You smell like ***. Nothing but a ***** in heat.” 

Mr. Speaker: Member. Please do not use that kind of language. 

MLA. Banman: I apologize, Mr. Speaker, and I actually would retract those words. 

This language is deeply disturbing… I’m asking as a parent, as a grandparent, to the Premier and to the minister: if the words I just read were inappropriate and unacceptable and clearly disturbing to this House, how is it that those same words are appropriate to be read by a sixth grader as young as 11 years old in our public system? 

Since then, there has been a provincial election and seismic shifts in BC politics, but teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) has remained a staple in public schools across the province. 

But, if one BC MLA has his way, that will start to change. 

The Parental Transparency and Age-Appropriate Education Act 

In May 2025, Conservative MLA Mandeep Dhaliwal introduced Bill M-215, the Parental Transparency and Age-Appropriate Education Act. Although the bill doesn’t mention SOGI explicitly, Dhaliwal has been a vocal critic of SOGI in the past. He hasn’t had the opportunity yet to speak to his bill in the legislature, but his introduction to the bill on X shows his commitment to the issue as the critic for parental rights and as a father himself.  

Dhaliwal writes, “In this rapidly evolving educational landscape, it is imperative that parents have a clear voice in the education of their children. …As a father, I deeply understand the importance of being involved in my children’s education. This bill is a vital step toward empowering families and ensuring that parents have the rights they deserve in guiding their children’s educational journeys.”  

The bill requires that the Minister of Education establish a committee of 21 people, to be comprised of the Minister of Education, a member of the Official Opposition and 19 other people. (The title of the bill presumes that these additional committee members are parents and private citizens, but such a requirement is not in the bill.) The committee’s task is to review any book, film, pamphlet, or document found within a public school in British Columbia and suggest an age range for the material and whether the material should be in public schools. These materials can be referred to the committee by MLAs, the chair of the committee, or by individuals (again, presumably private citizens). 

What difference will it make? 

Neither the Minister of Education nor local public school boards would be required to implement the committee’s recommendations to limit access to a book to certain grades or remove it entirely from the school. But this process would be an avenue in which problematic material could be raised in the public view.  

Tara Armstrong, a One BC MLA, criticized the BC Conservatives for greatly watering down their campaign pledge of getting rid of SOGI. She thinks the BC Conservatives should be far more aggressive in removing SOGI and sexual content from schools.  

She’s right. Far more needs to be done to remove SOGI from schools (see ARPA’s gender ideology in education report). Alberta certainly went further, launching a public consultation on what is appropriate in school libraries and requiring any material that primarily deals with gender and sexuality in schools to be first approved by the Ministry of Education. 

But a step in the right direction is a step in the right direction, no matter how big or small it is, and this bill is a step in the right direction. 

Show your support  

Send an EasyMail to your MLA voicing your support for the legislation. In British Columbia, most private member’s bills are stuck after first reading (the first of five steps in becoming law). They generally aren’t passed or defeated but simply stall in the legislative process because the governing party never gets around to scheduling the next stage of the process for such bills (i.e. placing it on the order paper). The governing party, of course, focuses on debating and passing their own legislation. So, copy your email to the NDP and Conservative House leaders and ask them to let this bill progress through the legislative process. 

There is also a petition circulating in support of the bill. Note that the online petition cannot be presented in the BC legislature and will primarily be used for internal BC Conservative party purposes. But the paper petition is an official BC legislature petition that MLAs can present in the legislature. Consider printing out a copy of the petition, gathering signatures, and sending it off to your MLA or to MLA Dhaliwal in support of the bill.