Sask. Ministry of Education took 9 days to create naming and pronoun policy, affidavit shows

A Saskatchewan Ministry of Education official's sworn affidavit says it took nine days to create the government's school naming and pronoun policy.

In the affidavit, assistant deputy minister of education Michael Walter described the sequence of events that led to the creation of the Saskatchewan government's parental inclusion and consent policies.

The policy, introduced on Aug. 22, dictates that students under the age of 16 must get parental consent if they want their chosen name, gender identity and/or gender expression affirmed at school. 

Walter's affidavit was referenced during an injunction hearing on Tuesday in Regina Court of King's Bench. Lawyers representing UR Pride are asking Justice Michael Megaw to halt the policy while the court process plays out. UR Pride filed a lawsuit against the policy and arguments for and against it will be heard in late November.

On Tuesday, Adam Goldenberg, a lawyer representing UR Pride, said the policy is discriminatory because it targets only gender-diverse students. He also argued the policy was hastily developed and implemented without consultation with experts or school divisions. He referenced Walter's affidavit.

In the affidavit, Walter said, "On Aug. 9, 2023, I received instructions from the minister's office to begin the development of a policy that would increase parental involvement in the event that a student wanted to change their name and/or pronouns at school to reflect their gender choice."

Walter said he was contacted by then-Education Minister Dustin Duncan's chief of staff Mitchell Graw who said government MLAs, in Walter's words, "had been contacted by constituents expressing concerns about how students were permitted to change their names and pronouns secretly in school without any parental involvement or notice."

Walter said from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11, the ministry examined what policies existed in the province's school divisions and looked at policies and legislation in other jurisdictions related to the use of names and pronouns in schools.

It found that 10 school divisions in Saskatchewan had policies that dealt with gender and sexual diversity and six of those had policies related to the use of pronouns. Walter said those approaches "varied."

Walter said "gaps" existed which meant students in different school divisions would be "encountering very different experiences, supports and requirements when seeking to use a preferred name or pronoun."

"The minister and ministry staff found the lack of consistency concerning," Walter said. 

"We were to ensure that students have access to appropriate supports in the school, as well as engagement with their parents or guardians in order to provide the best possible conditions for supporting a student through a change of name and pronouns."

The ministry then prepared a draft policy on Aug. 14. From Aug. 14 to Aug. 18, the ministry tweaked other policies and procedures to "align with the policy. This included the Deepening the Discussion policy document which is an online professional learning document for school divisions regarding gender and sexual diversity.

The final draft was sent to the minister on Aug. 18.