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About Bill 28
Bill 28 (Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2026) proposes significant changes to the Library’s Act that will affect the way our community accesses library materials and space. This legislation introduces direct provincial oversight and mandatory collection restrictions that create immediate conflicts with our facility’s physical capacity, our municipal budget, and our core policies on Intellectual Freedom and Censorship.

While the Government of Alberta is currently indicating that the new legislation is only to restrict sexually explicit images from the library. As written, it only indicates that regulations can be created, which leaves it open for other regulations in the futures. Library boards across Alberta believe in parent's right to manage, control, and support their children in the way they deem appropriate. Library policies and procedures support these parental rights, without the need for additional control and decision making powers from provincial authorities. The Coalition of Alberta Pubic Libraries (CAP) created a statement about Bill-28 (below), and encourage you to reach out to your MLA With concerns. 

Read Bill 28​

Read the Official Statement from the Coalition of Alberta Public Library (CAP)

Proposed Changes & Impact

1. Governance & Oversight: The Loss of Local Control
Right now, your library is run by people who live in the community. Bill 28 changes that by handing the "remote control" for our libraries to a government office in Edmonton. This means provincial inspectors would be able to second-guess how libraries run programs or what books we put on our shelves, even if your local Library Board and community are happy with them. Most concerningly, it allows people from outside individual communities bypass our local process and go straight to the Minister to complain about what’s happening in our community space, even if they don't live here. This bypasses the Library Boards local review process and Expression of Concern procedures. 

• Expanded inspection powers create a hostile environment. If an inspector can critique which books, libraries have available, how they display books, or how they run a specific program, the library loses the freedom to be creative and responsive to local needs.
• Staff Interrogations places frontline staff, who are often part-time or volunteer, in a terrifying legal position. If they answer "incorrectly" or are seen as "obstructing", they face punishable offences. 
• By allowing a direct line to the Minister, Bill 28 encourages "out-of-town" or "coordinated" complaints. A single person (or even a group from outside your community) could trigger a provincial investigation into your library, bypassing the local Board entirely.

2. Policy Conflict vs. Parental Responsibility
The proposed "age-appropriate standards" (restricting access for those 15 and under) directly contradict long-standing policies of open access held my libraries. Censorship and intellectual freedom Policies state that the Board is not a "supervisor of public morals", and don't act as "in loco parentis", (in place of a parent). The legislation changes force the Board to assume this role by proxy. Library board policies affirm the right of guardians to enforce their own codes of conduct for their households, not the library staff. Bill 28 replaces individualized parental choice with a one-size-fits-all provincial mandate.

• Library staff’s job is to help people find what they need. Under Bill 28, they are forced to become "age-enforcers." This places staff in the awkward and confrontational position of having to "card" young teenagers or question their choices at the desk. It damages the trust we’ve built with local youth.
• While the message of this legislation is protecting children, it forces provincially mandated restrictions on families. Families should have the right AND responsibility of monitoring the reading and viewing materials their children access.

3. Operational Pressures
If Library Boards are forced to comply with the proposed restrictions, many facilities and staffing implements are presented with major hurdles. Complying with regulations will require significant staff time to pull, move, and analyse materials. This has initial front heavy time needs which may require library closures. The Bill requires "separate" or "restricted" areas that must be monitorable by staff.

• Every hour spent preparing for or responding for an inspection or answering a Ministerial inquiry is an hour not spent on programs, services or helping patrons. If a section must be "monitorable," a staff member must be positioned to see it at all times to ensure no one under 16 enters. It may mean that one staff member is permanently tethered to a specific spot for "surveillance" rather than roaming the floor to help people with their needs.
• Many current footprints have no space for a 'restricted' section, behind the counter or in a separate room. Creating one would require significant structural renovations and the loss of existing space. This will require a major overhaul of the space to rearrange collections which may result in increased taxes, decreases funding for services and programs, and possible lengthy library closure.

4. Censorship
While the Government of Alberta is ensuring local boards have the right to choose what goes in their collection development policies and processes, if the library cannot afford costly renovations or processes to monitor the materials the province deems unfit, the only option left is to remove them from the collection. This is De Facto Censorship.​

• If the Olds Library is unable to afford the renovations or comply with restricted materials regulations, they will be required to remove selected materials from the public library. This will reduce access to materials, (i.e. puberty and sexual education materials) and meant for adults and already shelved in adult sections of the library.
• If libraries don't wish to remove materials, and can't created restricted sections. Some libraries may be forced to create age restrictions for entering the library, as we've seen in the United States. This will mean that students in some communities won't be able to freely enter or use the library.