Anglophone East rejects minister's ultimatum in Policy 713 legal clash
CBC
The Anglophone East district education council has rejected the education minister's demand that it stop spending money on a lawsuit against the government over gender-identity policies.
In a letter to Bill Hogan, chair Harry Doyle says the council will only agree to the demand if the minister promises in writing to not "repeal or remove" the district's policy, which he has already said he is repealing.
Hogan had demanded the council comply with his demands by 5 p.m. Thursday or else he would go to court himself to dissolve the council.
Doyle rejected the ultimatum in his letter.
Provincial law "provides that locally elected DECs, responsible to their electorates, decide how to implement public education in their respective school district subject to the Education Act," he wrote.
Hogan issued a statement about an hour after his deadline saying the DEC had left him "no options but to commence the process for dissolution" of the council.
His statement accused Anglophone East of "diverting almost $300,000 from classrooms to Ontario-based lawyers to file a motion to fight the rights of parents to be informed about their kids under 16."
The minister must apply to the court to dissolve the DEC and it's unclear how quickly that might happen.
It is the latest escalation in an extraordinary legal and constitutional confrontation between the Moncton-based district education council and the minister over the province's Policy 713.
The government updated the policy last year to require school staff to get parents' consent when a student younger than 16 wants to adopt a new name or pronoun at school.
Anglophone East argued that that would violate the rights of students under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Education Act and the provincial Human Rights Act.
The council adopted its own policy on implementing 713, which says school staff "shall respect the direction of the student in regard to the name and pronouns they wish to be called in daily interactions with school personnel and other students."
It has gone to court asking for a judge to block any attempt by Hogan to repeal the policy or dissolve the council.
Hogan argues the council can spend money from its budget "for educational purposes only" and must stop spending on the lawsuit.
After walking a few laps around the shop, Maria Castagna picks up a glass ornament in the form of a pink, sparkly ice cream cone and smiles widely.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says he has much unfinished work from his first term in office, as he prepares to make his pitch to voters ahead of the 2026 election.
Moving to Canada from Singapore meant losing close social connections for Iris Akbar, but Akbar says the gift was in finding an affirming space with friends that became like family.
Women and children staying at Regina Transition House now have access to Santa’s workshop — a safe space where mothers can choose Christmas gifts for their children.
A man from Powell River, B.C., is thankful to be alive after a stranger helped him while he was choking at a restaurant during a visit to Whistler.
When it comes to Hamilton readers' favourite library books of 2025, romance and mysteries are in close competition.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.