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, supportsand 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.

The government's new policies were finalized on Aug. 21 and released to the school divisions and the public on Aug. 22.

LISTEN |The Morning Edition's political panel on Friday, Sept. 22

The Morning Edition - Sask10:15Political Panel - Sept. 22, 2023

Lawyers for the Saskatchewan government were in court this week, arguing to keep its pronoun and 'parental rights' rules for schools. And if it doesn't win there, the premier says he will fight to do it anyway. Host Stefani Langenegger talks with Leader Post columnist Murray Mandryk and CBC Saskatchewan provincial affairs reporter Adam Hunter in this week's political panel.

18 letters sent during2-month period

Walter said between early June and early August, Duncan received 18 letters regarding the New Brunswick sexual orientation and gender identity policy (Policy 713).

The policy originally allowed for students to be referred to by the name and pronoun of their choosing. Teachers were required to receive student consent before sharing the information with the family. In June, the New Brunswick government changed the policy to require parental consent for a name or pronoun change for students under 16.

Walter said the constituents expressed support for a similar policy in Saskatchewan. He said of the 18 letters, seven people identified themselves as parents of school-aged children.

The letters were not attached to the affidavit.

UR Pride's lawyer Goldenberg told the courtthat Walter's affidavit showed a lack of public concern about the issue.

"There is no evidence before the court that there was some problem to be solved that this policy attempts to address," Goldenberg said.

Speaking following Tuesday's court proceedings, Goldenberg said, "It's telling that this policy came together in nine days in the summer and we say that is a good reason for the court to doubt that the government was acting in the public interest here."

"You would think that if a policy was going to affect the interests of young people, that was going to affect the constitutional rights of children, that there would be expert consultation that the school divisions would have brought to the table, that there would have been meaningful discussion about this. If the whole thing came together in nine days, it's impossible that any of that happened."

The lawyer representing the government, Mitch McAdam, said in court that the speed at which the policy was developed "does not do away with the presumption of public interest."

McAdam argued the government sought to create a "gender-affirming policy" that is intended to support students who wish to change their name or pronoun.

Listen | Sask. Child and Youth Advocate weighs in on parental inclusion and consent policy:

Saskatoon Morning8:24Children's advocate says children have a right to non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and the freedom of expression

The government's new policy that requires parental consent if a student wants to change their name or pronoun in school has been proven to be divisive. Saskatchewan Children's Advocate Lisa Broda conducted a review of the policy after it was announced and it was released earlier this weekend.Guest host Candice Lipski talks with Broda about the report.

Moe says policy in response to feedback to MLAs

On Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe was asked about the ministry taking nine days to create the new policy.

"That's actually not correct. This is a policy that's been discussed at the elected level of government for some period of time."

Moe said criticism bythe children's advocate, a lawsuitand evidence that experts and school divisions were not consulted would not affect the policy.

"There's broad support for this policy across Saskatchewan and that's why the government is ultimately committed to ensuring its implementation today and into the future. With respect to legal ramifications, there are none as of yet."

WATCH|Hundreds ralliedearlier this month against new pronoun, name policy in Sask. schools:

Hundreds rally against new pronoun, name policy in Sask. schools

1 year ago

Duration 2:04

Hundreds of people rallied in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to oppose the province's new policy requiring parental consent for name and pronoun changes in schools.

The directive to the ministry to create the policy came one day before the final day of voting in three byelections. The NDP claimed two former Saskatchewan Party seats in Regina. The Saskatchewan Party's Blaine McLeod won in Lumsden-Morse with 54 per cent of the vote. However, in the previous two elections the party won with more than 70 per cent of the vote.

The Saskatchewan United Party came second with 23per cent of the vote in Lumsden-Morse and campaigned on a platform of "protecting parental rights."

On Aug. 11, Moe told reporters "byelections are about voters sending a message and now it's up to our government to listen to and to act on that message that has been sent here this week."

Moe said Duncan would be introducing a plan for an "age-appropriate" sexual education curriculum.

On Aug. 22, Duncan announced the requirement for parental consent for a name and or pronoun change and he announced third parties would not be permitted to speak in schools in sexual education classes. The government also gave parents the option to have their child decline participation in sexual education classes.

Following a cabinet shuffle on Aug. 29, Moe said the policy was a response to concerns parents had expressed to MLAs.

"This isn't a policy that was dreamt up by a couple of elected members. This is a policy that many, if not all of the government caucus MLAs have had discussions with parents, and ultimately with constituents, over the course of the last number of years, not just the course of the last number of months," Moe said.