Hearing Concludes in Sask. School Pronoun Policy Court Challenge

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a press conference in Regina, on Oct. 25, 2023. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

The latest hearing in a legal challenge of Saskatchewan’s school pronoun policy wrapped up on Sept. 24, with the court reserving its decision.

The Saskatchewan government introduced the policy in August 2023, requiring schools to seek parental consent if a student wants to change his or her name or pronoun.

The policy was challenged by UR Pride, a peer-to-peer support group for LGBT individuals that filed an injunction to stop implementation of the policy. The group was granted an injunction on Sept. 28, 2023.

Premier Scott Moe responded in October 2023 by replacing the policy with a Parents’ Bill of Rights and invoking the notwithstanding clause to get the bill passed.

In February, the Court of King’s Bench ruled that UR Pride’s lawsuit could move forward despite the use of the notwithstanding clause. Legal representatives for UR Pride argue that the Charter prohibits “any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment” and say that the policy causes “irreparable harm to gender diverse young people” in the province.

Saskatchewan appealed the decision, and the Court of Appeal heard arguments this week. It will issue its decision at a later date.

Nearly a dozen groups have been given intervenor status in the case, including the governments of Alberta and New Brunswick, both of which have introduced similar policies for schools.

Alberta Attorney General Mickey Amery has said the case could affect parental rights across Canada as well as the country’s parliamentary supremacy clause, or notwithstanding clause.

The Alberta policy, announced by Premier Danielle Smith in February, requires schools to seek parental consent if a student aged 15 years or younger wants to use a different name or pronoun.

Those students 16 years and older do not need parental consent, but parents are to be informed about their child’s decision.

In July 2023, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs announced a change to Policy 713, its sexual orientation and gender identity policy, so that schools must get parental consent when students wanting to change their pronoun or name. The policy previously said that if parental consent could not be obtained, then a plan would be put in place to allow the child to use the preferred name.

Legal Challenge

“Saskatchewan has put gender diverse young people in a lose-lose situation: either be forced to come out by the government, or be misgendered and misnamed at school,” Adam Goldenberg, lead counsel for UR Pride, said in a Sept. 20 statement.

Premier Moe said the Parents’ Bill of Rights protects parents in the province and that children’s information should not be kept from parents. Rather, parents should be included in a child’s education and all important decisions, Moe said.

Moe’s government has also argued that the legal challenge is no longer relevant as the policy has been replaced by the bill, which is protected by the notwithstanding clause.