Parental consent should be required for student pronoun changes: Manitoba Tories
CTV
The issue of whether parents should consent to their child's name or pronoun changes at school reignited in Manitoba Tuesday. The interim leader of the Opposition Progressive Conservatives said parental consent should be required, while the province's NDP premier accused the Tories of being divisive.
The issue of whether parents should consent to their child's name or pronoun changes at school reignited in Manitoba Tuesday. The interim leader of the Opposition Progressive Conservatives said parental consent should be required, while the province's NDP premier accused the Tories of being divisive.
"I really do feel that informing parents, even on the level of consent -- whether it's the topic of pronouns, whether it's some other topics within the education world -- I don't think it's a bad thing," said interim Tory leader Wayne Ewasko, a former teacher and guidance counsellor.
"Why would we want to hide various topics away from parents and guardians when we're trying ... to get more and more parents and guardians involved in their kids' education?"
Premier Wab Kinew accused Ewasko of reviving rhetoric that the Tories hinted at in the last election, when the NDP swept to power after seven years of Tory rule.
"This sort of division, I think, was rejected in the election by Manitobans, and it's disappointing that that message hasn't been received by the PCs' interim leader," Kinew said.
In the campaign leading up to last October's election, the Tories made parental rights in education part of their platform. But the promise was vaguely worded and focused on issues such as parental knowledge of the curriculum and presentations from outside groups.
At the same time, some other provinces were coming up with specific policies on names and pronouns.
