Federal Minister of Women, Gender and Youth Marci Ien believes Saskatchewan and New Brunswick’s policies requiring students under 16 to get parental consent for schools to use their preferred pronouns and names are discouraging trans children a category “life or death situation”.
While Ms. Ien declines to say whether Ottawa will play a role in a possible legal challenge, she is keeping an eye on what’s happening.
“What I can tell you is that we are monitoring developments closely,” she told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.
Anything is possible, but I won’t make any hypothetical comments right now.
Saskatchewan recently became the second province to change its policies regarding pronoun use and name changes for students under 16, requiring teachers to ask their parents for permission. The government says the change is due to parental concerns and a desire to have a consistent policy across all school divisions.
Premier Scott Moe has signaled his intention to make the change before the next school year after the Saskatchewan United Party, an emerging right-wing party, captured his party’s rural vote in a byelection after choosing the issue of parents during the election campaign had rights.
This issue arose after an incident in which a ninth grader brought home an explicit flyer that had been delivered to his high school by Planned Parenthood.
Last June, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs became the first provincial leader to address the phenomenon.
Coastal Province had a policy that required teachers to use students’ preferred pronouns and names. Students under 16 must now obtain parental consent.
A scathing report by the province’s children and youth advocate later warned the Progressive Conservative government that its revised policies risked violating children’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Policies are considered discriminatory
That concern is shared by a prominent national civil rights group, which says the guidelines must be challenged.
These policies have a discriminatory impact on transgender and gender diverse students, says Harini Sivalingam, director of equity programs at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
For example, a cisgender student who wants to use a nickname is not required to obtain parental consent, but a transgender student would be required to do so. So this clearly has a discriminatory effect that harms trans students, she explains.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce also said he believes parents have the right to be informed if their children change their name or pronoun at school, but he has not committed to making any changes.
egale Canada, a national LGBTQ+ organization, has called on Saskatchewan to stop the change. If that doesn’t happen, she will seek an injunction on behalf of the University of Regina Pride Centre.
Prime Minister Moe cited a recent opinion poll by the Angus Reid Institute that showed at least half of respondents supported his government’s approach to the issue. For her part, Federal Minister Marci Ien says that the safety of children is her top priority.
This is a life and death situation. You have to look at the numbers, she said.
Ms. Ien points to a groundbreaking study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2018 that found transgender youth who were able to use their preferred names and pronouns experienced a 34% decrease in suicidal ideation and a 65% decrease in suicide attempts. recorded.
When asked about the actions the Liberal government plans to take, the minister said it is listening to both teachers and families of LGBTQ+ children who will be directly affected by the policy changes.
We monitor and inform the community intensively and they know it. She knows who has her back, Ms. Ien said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ Canadians is a priority for his government. Last year he unveiled an action plan promising to pay up to $75 million to organizations that work with these citizens.
The opposition parties are divided
NDP MP Randall Garrison, NDP spokesman for LGBTQ+ issues in Parliament, said in a statement that Trudeau’s words are not enough.
His government must immediately implement concrete measures to protect 2SLGBTQI+ children, such as increasing funding for transgender and gender diversity organizations and achieving gender-affirming comprehensive health care across Canada.
Asked about the policy change in New Brunswick, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Mr. Trudeau should stay out of provincial affairs.
A video clip recently published online of an interview he gave to an ethnic television channel shows him saying parents should be the final authority on the values and lessons taught to children.
Next week, members of the Conservative Party will debate the idea of a Conservative government banning life-changing medical or surgical procedures for minors seeking gender reassignment surgery. Mr Poilievre declined to comment on the matter.
For her part, Ms. Sivalingam of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association believes the federal government could expand the Court Challenges program to include laws and policies that fall directly under provincial jurisdiction. Currently, this program only covers topics of national interest. This would enable stakeholders to access funding.
This is an important national issue that affects Canadians, and one that Ms. Sivalingam says should truly be addressed by all levels of government.