CCLA lawsuit asks court to quash new parental consent requirement in N.B.'s Policy 713
CBC
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has filed the first lawsuit against New Brunswick's changes to school gender-identity policy.
The suit follows Education Minister Bill Hogan's decision in June to change Policy 713 to make it mandatory for staff to get parental consent before using the chosen names and pronouns of children under 16.
Hogan said parents have a right to decide what pronoun is best for their children and should be able to control what name and pronoun teachers and staff use in verbal communication, regardless of the child's wishes.
He said if teachers grant a child's request for a specific name and pronoun, and the parents complain, then the teacher could face disciplinary action.
In court filings this week, the civil liberties group asks that a judge review and quash these specific changes and declare they violate LGBTQ children's charter and human rights.
The association also asks that a judge order the province to rewrite the policy and declare that it can't forbid the use of a child's chosen name or pronoun without parental consent.
"The rules require that teachers and school staff participate in the misgendering or deadnaming of students for indeterminate periods of time, even when this approach is against the advice of school social workers and psychologists," the lawsuit says.
"The changes to Policy 713 were made following a flawed and unfair process by a Minister who exhibited a 'closed mind' and a reasonable apprehension of bias."
The allegations have not been tested in court, and the province hasn't filed a statement of defence.
The filing made on Wednesday is the first step in a lengthy legal process. The CCLA, as a group that's not directly affected, also has to prove that it has "public interest standing," on top of proving the main allegations.
No date has been set yet for a hearing, according to the Fredericton Court of King's Bench.
Francophone and Anglophone district education councils have previously hired two different lawyers for a legal opinion on how they can sue the province for the changes.
New Brunswick was the first province to bring up the topic of self-identification in school. Since then, Saskatchewan has brought in a similar policy, and it's also being sued for it.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
City staff are working on long-term plans to prevent toxic and smelly algae blooms at the Hamilton harbour – and short-term plans to mitigate blooms when they happen – but are cautioning residents that it's not the type of problem with a quick fix.
Another blockade of the Ambassador Bridge wouldn't play out like what happened in February 2022 — thanks to police being empowered to act faster and harder, according to a report that's going to Windsor city council next week.
On the first day of 2025, Alberta's default electricity rate is set to be replaced by the new "rate of last resort," in what the province says is a bid to protect consumers from a volatile electricity pricing landscape.
Canadians and Americans sit next to each other in the stands of a small Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., hockey arena to watch the Soo Thunderbirds face off against their cross-border rivals, Michigan's Soo Eagles.
A number of school bus routes in northwestern Ontario have been cancelled Wednesday after a dump of snow overnight in the region. A number of weather advisories also remain in effect in the region, including snow squall warnings in the Greenstone area.
Waterloo regional councillors have voted down a motion that would have asked the Waterloo Regional Police Service to cut $4 million from its proposed 2025 budget.
Residents of a neighbourhood in the heart of downtown Charlottetown hope to have a community garden in place on some vacant land by the time spring arrives.
Planting trees is a popular way to mitigate climate change, but in northern and Arctic regions, it may not be an effective solution.
The RCMP says it's considering deploying Mounties-in-training to help police the Canada-U.S. border as political anxiety over border control mounts in the face of tariff threats from the incoming Trump administration.
Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were honoured Tuesday night before the Calgary Flames played the Columbus Blue Jackets, on the same ice where Johnny etched his place as a cherished member of the city's hockey community.