Toronto's public school board is reviewing Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale after one complaint from a parent whose child was studying the novel in a Grade 12 class.
While the board would not discuss the nature of the concern over the 1985 dystopian novel that is used nationwide – described by some educators as a staple of its genre – a source said it was believed to be over sexuality and criticism of religious fundamentalism.
According to board policy, it is obliged to investigate any complaint about a book that can't be resolved at the school level. The process involves a committee of roughly eight experts and a community member, and it is time-consuming.
The review committee meets tomorrow at Lawrence Park Collegiate, where the complaint originated.
"Any controversial novels that we use sometimes generate comment from the public, and I think that's quite normal," said Melanie Parrack, the board's executive superintendent of student success, who also co-chairs the committee.
Atwood could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The last time the Toronto District School Board faced a similar controversy was in 2006, when the Canadian Jewish Congress lobbied boards to restrict access to Three Wishes by Deborah Ellis, complaining about its portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Parrack would not speculate on possible outcome for Atwood's novel, but said if something is "extraordinarily offensive" it could be taken off the shelves.
The book is used in an English literature unit on social commentary, alongside Brave New World and 1984. The acclaimed novel – which won the Governor General's Award in 1985 – is about a futuristic theocracy in which women are used as breeders.
Trustee Howard Goodman, who represents Lawrence Park Collegiate and has read The Handmaid's Tale, called the book "fascinating, controversial and challenging." He is not on the committee, nor does he know the basis of the complaint.
Once the committee meets, it will make a recommendation to the board's director of education, who makes the ultimate decision. If the parent is still not satisfied, only then does the issue come before trustees for a vote, Goodman said.
"Grade 12 is the transition preparation year and it's likely that there will be some challenges to pre-existing attitudes and some parents might be uncomfortable with that," he said.
Goodman said all complaints are taken seriously and if someone is sensitive about a book, "maybe it's something we overlooked. We have to be open to new information at all times.
"When a complaint comes in, we want to be completely open to understanding what the problem is and if there's something we can do to mitigate it or maybe what we are doing is bang-on and then we work with the parent and explain why we are doing what we are doing."
Parrack said the committee comprises librarians, curriculum experts and educators at the school, as well as the principal and a community member.
"This doesn't happen very often," Parrack said of the review committee process. With the elimination of Grade 13, students are now reading more challenging novels at age 16 or 17, instead of 18 or 19.
"It's interesting how things may have changed. It might be troublesome for parents." Parrack said.
Liz Kerr, education director for the Ontario Library Association, said any book used in an English class has been closely vetted by department heads and consultants.
"Certain objections to certain books and authors come in waves," she said. "I haven't heard anything about The Handmaid's Tale for many, many years, although I suspect there may have been issues when it first came out."
The Handmaid's Tale is listed as one of the 100 "most frequently challenged books" from 1990 to 1999 on the American Library Association's website.
The Canadian Library Association says there is "no known instance of a challenge to this novel in Canada" but says the book was called anti-Christian and pornographic by parents after being placed on a reading list for secondary students in Texas in the 1990s.