By law, Sask. youth under 16 now need parental consent before changing pronouns at school
CTV
Saskatchewan has passed a bill requiring parental consent if a youth under the age of 16 wants to be referred by a different pronoun or name at school.
The third and final reading of Saskatchewan's "Parents' Bill of Rights" passed Friday morning, a bill requiring parental consent if a youth under the age of 16 wants to be referred by a different pronoun or name at school.
The legislation, largely understood to be focused on trans and gender-diverse students, was immediately granted royal assent, making it law in Saskatchewan.
"This is not in any way targeting anyone, this is targeting how we can best support our children in our community and step one of that support is to provide the parents with that opportunity to support their children," Premier Scott Moe said during a news conference in Regina following the bill's passage.
“There have been a lot of firsts in [the Saskatchewan Legislative building] and a lot of things Saskatchewan residents can be proud of, in 1947 the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights was the first of its kind in the country, we’re known as the home of Medicare brought in in 1962 and today in 2023 we saw another first, but this time it was to take away the rights of vulnerable children,” NDP leader Carla Beck said when speaking to reporters Friday afternoon.
Also known as Bill 137, the legislation includes the use of the notwithstanding clause to overrule part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the province’s human rights code.
Following a court-ordered pause on the pronoun policy, Moe recalled the legislature two weeks early to enshrine the new pronoun rules into law and vowed to use the notwithstanding clause.
The first two readings of the bill saw complete support from all Saskatchewan Party members in attendance and the lone Saskatchewan United Party member.
