Not porn: Complaint against books in Chilliwack libraries leads to RCMP investigation

Feb 23 2023, 2:00 am

The RCMP has concluded an investigation into books available to students within the Chilliwack school district after someone complained that they contained child pornography.

According to the RCMP, it received the report last Friday from a complaint about the books which contained the “most concerning material.”

However, after Chilliwack RCMP’s Serious Crime Section reviewed the books it confirmed, “this content does not meet the definition of child pornography under the Criminal Code of Canada.”

“This is a serious allegation and one that caused many parents great concern in our community,” Sergeant Krista Vrolyk said in a statement. “Police have a duty to investigate these allegations but it became clear to the investigator who has years of experience in investigating Child Pornography offences, that, while the material may be deemed inappropriate or concerning to some people, it does not constitute Child Pornography.”

A group called Action4Canada said earlier this year it told trustees and the superintendent of School District #33 “of the risk of liability due to the measurable harm to students as a result of the radical ideological SOGI 123 resource and the criminal code violations associated with the pornographic books.”

SOGI 123 is a program intended to support educators with tools that can help them make schools inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI), according to its site.

The books the group considered “sexually explicit” included publications by Ellen Hopkins like her novel Identical and a memoir by Maia Kobabe called Gender Queer.

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