What do the Manitoba PCs mean when they talk about parental rights? Find out, after the election

To PC Leader Heather Stefanson, the Progressive Conservative promise to bolster "parental rights" in Manitoba is a common-sense effort to combat the likes of online bullying and harassment.

To the other party leaders, this PC pledge is nothing but a cynical effort to rally fearful voters to the party's side.

Where does the truth lie? To find out, we might have to wait to see what happens after the election, assuming the PCs win a third consecutive term.

The party has declined to elaborate what its leader meant, precisely, when she promised to expand "the right to be involved in addressing bullying and other behavioural changes" on Aug. 17.

"We're going to see what that looks like. We're going to go through a consultation process," Stefanson said on Monday.

This took place after a CJOB radio debate where she declined to state whether Manitoba intends on following in the footsteps of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe said last week he's willing to use the notwithstanding clause — which allows governments to temporarily override certain sections of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms — to protect a new rule requiring parental permission for transgender and non-binary students under 16 to use different names or pronouns at school.

In New Brunswick, it's now mandatory for school staff to obtain parental consent before using the chosen names and pronouns of children under 16. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association filed a lawsuit against this gender-identity policy earlier this month.

Given the Manitoban tendency toward political moderation, regardless of the party in power, it's entirely possible a re-elected PC government would have no taste for a similar exercise in pushing Canadian constitutional boundaries.

Yet if that's the case, the premier won't say so. Neither will Obby Khan, the face of the PCs' "parental rights" promise on Tory-purchased billboards.

Khan, the PC candidate for Fort Whyte, said this plank in his party's campaign has more to do with ensuring school rules are updated for an era where kids have access to the internet in their hands.

"I see my face in billboards here and there and I'm proud of that," Khan said Tuesday during a PC campaign announcement, echoing Stefanson's pledge to find out later what precise form of expanded rights parents want to see.

"Right now it's about having that conversation, an extensive consultation with parents and teachers as we move forward with the ultimate goal of having everyone protecting our children," he said.

The implication of this rhetoric, according to Manitoba opposition leaders, is if you don't support this PC promise, you don't want to protect children.