Labour groups vow to make Sask. Party 'uncomfortable' if pronoun bill proceeds

Leaders from the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and the Service Employers International Union (SEIU) say they will turn up the heat if the province shields its controversial pronoun rules by invoking the notwithstanding clause.

Leaders from the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and the Service Employers International Union (SEIU) say they will turn up the heat if the province shields its controversial pronoun rules by invoking the notwithstanding clause.

Lori Johb, the president of the SFL, stood outside of Saskatchewan Party MLA Gord Wyant's office on Wednesday to call the tactic "desperate and dangerous."

"Let me be clear, if this bill passes, workers will only increase the pressure," she said.

"We will call, we will email, we will show up and we will make noise. They will know what they've done is wrong. And if the Sask. Party does not change course, we will make their support of the notwithstanding clause as uncomfortable as possible."

Bill 137, dubbed the Parents Bill of Rights by the Saskatchewan Party, states that parents will provide consent before a student’s teachers and other school employees use a desired gender identity or gender-related preferred name if the student is under the age of 16. The legislation also bars third-party organization from offering sexual education in schools.

The bill invokes the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution to override certain sections of the Charter and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code that protect the rights of children in order to skirt an active legal challenge against the new rules.

The province intends to table and hold first reading of the bill on Thursday.