A New Brunswick mother says her petition for parental rights in education is gaining support daily and will help the provincial government to stay the course.
Faytene Grasseschi of Quispamsis, New Brunswick, launched DontDeleteParents.ca on June 27. The initiative supports revisions to Policy 713 on sexual orientation and gender identity made by Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs and Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Bill Hogan.
The August 2020 policy by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development initially said that students should be referred to by their preferred pronouns and names. The policy allowed students to go into the bathroom according to the gender they identified with and to participate in sports according to their declared gender.
The policy was reviewed in May and revised June 8. Now, if parents of students under 16 do not consent to having an official name change on student records, school social workers and psychologists will “work with [students] in the development of a plan to speak with their parents if and when they are ready to do so.” Formerly, the policy in such cases was to “support the student in managing the use of the preferred name in the learning environment.”
The policy still gives students “access to washroom facilities that align with their gender identity” but has added, “private universal changing areas will be available in all schools.”
Section 6.1.5 of the policy now says, “All students will be able to participate in curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities that are safe and welcoming.” Previously, the sentence ended with the phrase “and consistent with their gender identity.”
When the changes were announced on June 8, two ministers and six other PC MLAs sat out in protest, leaving just 10 of the 18-member cabinet in full agreement. After weeks of controversy, Grasseschi launched her website, which describes itself as “a grassroots movement of common sense for families.”
The site directs visitors to a petition that reads: “In amending Policy 713, Premier Higgs has supported keeping parents involved in the lives of their children when it comes to life-altering decisions, such as changing their gender identity.
“We the undersigned support the Hon. Blaine Higgs in his stand for parents in New Brunswick.”
Every 5,000 signatures prompt a delivery of signatory names to all MLAs in the province. Grasseschi said 11,000 people have signed so far, and the numbers grow daily as people “are just waking up” to the issue and the petition.
“The majority of parents just send their kids to school and they trust that they’re going there to learn about reading, writing, math, and even health classes about nutrition and exercise,” Grasseschi said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
“Before this amendment, a child could change their name at school and mom and dad wouldn’t even know. That’s a pretty eye-opening revelation when people understand that for the first time.”
Faytene Grasseschi in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, in 2020. Courtesy of Faytene Grasseschi
A May 5-7 Leger poll of 1,523 Canadians commissioned by SecondStreet.org found 57 percent believed schools should tell parents if their child wants to change their pronouns or discuss transitioning genders. Only 18 percent disagreed, while 25 percent were unsure. The findings don’t surprise Grasseschi.
“A lot of parents are deeply troubled by the thought that the school would be intentionally keeping something from them as it relates to the health and sexual journey of their children,” she said.
The DontDeleteParents.ca petition includes a quote from the 69-year-old Higgs: “As a father and a grandfather, I don’t think there is anything more important than the role and responsibility of a parent in raising their children. As a province, our future is the next generation. That is worth standing up for.”
Grasseschi said about 22 percent of petition signatories are from New Brunswick, which has only two percent of the national population.
“New Brunswick signatories are really punching above their weight on it, so that speaks loudly,” Grasseschi said.
“We didn’t set out to be a political force in that way. We just set out to help the MLAs know that there were lots of parents that were on side with Blaine. But should this go to the membership for a vote, those people really be could be the game changer.”
The site includes three action points. One is to support Higgs “through encouraging him and his like-minded colleagues, through contacting elected officials, petitions and other forms of organizing.” The second point calls for “organizing and supporting pro-parent candidates at all levels of government.” The final plank is that “a family’s tax dollars should go to supporting their child’s education directly,” whether to a public or private school.
Grasseschi said it takes courage for elected leaders to “stick out their neck” in support of parental rights because the “animosity” of those opposed contribute to a “very intense” and “politically inconvenient conversation.” She believes the more her campaign grows, the better the chances for pro-parental policies in primary and secondary education.
“It’s important for MLAs and premiers across the nation to see the support behind Premier Higgs,” she said.
“It’s a very common-sensical stance to pass a policy that would maintain connection, or cultivate a maintaining of connection between parents and their kids. As other legislators see this, it will just encourage them to do the same when given the opportunity.”
