Premier Moe and his government a 'threat' to 2SLGBTQI+ workers: CUPE Sask. president

The president of the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says Premier Scott Moe and his government are a threat to 2SLGBTQI+ people in the province.

Kent Peterson is the first openly gay president of CUPE Saskatchewan, which represents about 31,000 members who work in health care, education and municipal sectors across the province.

"I hope my election as president will make it just a little bit easier for a future queer worker to see themselves in leadership roles in their union," he wrote in a statement released Tuesday.

In the statement, Peterson says Moe is "a dangerous threat" to the worker rights, human rights, and economic security in Saskatchewan.

He says there has been an increase in anti-2SLGBTQI+ laws and policies, as well as hate-based attacks on queer people in the province and across the country. 

In an interview with CBC News, Peterson said Moe and his predecessors who have served as leaders of the Saskatchewan Party have a "disgraceful record on LGBTQ rights and human rights."

The government's use of the notwithstanding clause to shield its school pronoun policy from court challenges, Peterson says, has put vulnerable young people at high risk.

He also cited an example of former premier Brad Wall's proposed legislation allowing commissioners to recuse themselves from performing same-sex marriages for religious reasons.

"He tried to pass that law and it was challenged and he lost," he said. 

Opposition leader Carla Beck says there are longstanding concerns about labour legislation in the province. 

"I assume the concerns stem from the emergency session on the pronounce debate, and the use of the notwithstanding clause twice," she said, addressing Peterson's statement at the legislature Wednesday.

Peterson says the Saskatchewan Party government has been lobbied for years to pass legislation that allows schools the right to form gender and sexuality alliances — "safe" spaces for young people in schools to access resources and socialize with other students in similar situations.

"Our provincial government has had endless opportunities, now for 16 to 17, years to pass a legislation like that and they have refused to do so," he said.

Instead, he says, the government fired experts on the board of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and replaced them with under-qualified people who are supporters of the current government.