Protesters at the rally on August 27 share their thoughts on the new policy.

On Tuesday, August 22, Saskatchewan’s Education Minister Dustin Duncan announced a new set of policies regarding sexual health education and the use of students’ preferred name and pronouns in schools, to be effective immediately. Less than a week later, on August 27, hundreds gathered in Saskatoon to protest the new policies.

In a statement released by Duncan and the Saskatchewan government, the measures were described as “New parental inclusion and consent policies for Saskatchewan schools.” The policy requires that all students under the age of 16 must have parental consent to change their preferred name or pronouns.

The announcement states: “The policy is intended to support students and parents and recognizes the important role that parents and guardians have in protecting and supporting their children as they grow and develop.”

The policy also includes new measures regarding the sexual health education of children in schools. According to the statement, the main goal of the policy is to respect personal and family beliefs regarding family life and human sexuality.

The policy states that parents will be informed by teachers about the instruction of sexual health, and will have the option to opt their child out of part or all of the unit; no third-party organizations may be invited to teach sexual health education in classrooms; students who raise a “controversial issue” within these classes will be referred to their family by their teachers, “To clarify personal and family beliefs.”

Since the statement was released, it has been met with criticism from the Opposition NDP, educators, health professionals and more. 

On August 27, a rally was held in Saskatoon to protest the new policy. Many at the protest expressed concern that the policy could harm transgender and non-binary students who may wish to be addressed by a different name or pronouns, and that the limited sexual education could harm all students.

“It’s putting children at risk,” said Fran Forsberg (she/her), an organizer of the rally. Forsberg believes that the government’s decision is based on misinformation and pandering to the far-right, not the children of the province.

“They have not included parents, they have not included educators, they have not included kids, and that’s who needs to be sitting at the table [to help make these decisions],” Forsberg said.

Lia Storey-Gamble (she/they) is a community organizer and former USSU Executive member that also helped to organize the protest. Gamble said the protest was trying to get across to the government that “This is not a value widely respected in Saskatchewan” and “This is just the start of the fight.”

“Our children deserve comprehensive education. Our children deserve autonomy in their classrooms as well,” Gamble said. “And of course, we want parents to be involved, but our children need to feel safe in their schools.”

Many who attended the protest shared their thoughts on the new policy as well.

Madeline Docherty (she/her) described the policy as discriminatory, backwards, disheartening and deeply unsettling. “Sexual education, gender identity education, queer education [and] inclusivity is the best thing for our communities, for our society, for youth.”

Docherty felt that by attending the protest, the community was showing that they would not just stand by and let the policy be implemented. 

“It makes me question what year we’re living in right now. It feels like a huge step backwards and frankly just feels devastating,” said Hannah Crease-MacLean (she/her). 

Crease-MacLean continued: “I think that the responsibility of the provincial government is to make sure that all children are safe in their educational environment and that [they] are getting adequate education in order to support [themselves] in life.”

The protest featured speeches from MLA Matt Love and Delilah Kamuhanda from Saskatoon Sexual Health. Both speakers emphasized the importance of education, with Kamuhanda sharing, “There’s no greater way to protect kids from harassment and grooming and assault than by giving them a proper sexual health education.”

Alex Litster-Paramor (she/they) is beginning her sixth year at USask and also attended the protest. She shared that her brother is transgender and is grateful that he was able to choose the time and place to have that conversation with their family. Litster-Paramor also believes that educational resources should be elevated, and they encourage people to get involved and have conversations to address this issue.

Carol Riekman (she/her) is a parent who came out to support the rally with her daughter. Riekman shared, “I think children need a safe place in school and they need to be able to go to school and be respected for who they are… We need all people in schools to support kids, whether they’re gay, trans, and teachers need freedom to do that as well.”

The Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth, Dr. Lisa Broda, will be reviewing the policy against The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and common law concepts.

“Trans lives matter. Trans youth are so important,” said AJ Classen (they/them), an RMT and a trans, non-binary person who attended the rally. 

“Pronouns are a very basic thing to respect… Requiring parental consent for kids to use their proper names and pronouns is going to endanger a lot of kids because abusive parents still exist,” said Classen. “We need to protect trans kids.”

Nicola Classen (they/them) got their first degree in education and shared that “Youth in Saskatchewan have every right to control their lives and control their bodies. They’re the experts in their lived experiences.”

“If [the Provincial Government] want[s] to fulfill their duty of protecting kids and providing educators with resources, then they need to stop being afraid of queerness,” said Classen.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) released a statement claiming that the new policy violates the rights of students and that they will “Take the legal measures necessary to protect the rights of students in Saskatchewan.” 

Multiple other organizations, including the University of Regina’s Pride Center, are also preparing to take legal action against the government. Premier Scott Moe said in a press conference on Tuesday, August 29, that the government is not worried about potential legal action, and does not plan to delay implementing the policy.

Nicola Classen also shared: “No matter what they do, they can’t overwrite every queer person in history.”