Despite blowback from the legacy media and leftist politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Brunswick’s Education Minister Bill Hogan says he’s committed to the decision to require parental consent for gender transitions at school.
Policy 713 has caused quite a stir within New Brunswick and throughout Canada as LGBTQ advocates allege that it harms transgender kids.
According to Hogan, the policy is simply about respecting the desires of parents who wish to be informed about their children’s welfare while at school.
“Parents deserve to be respected, and we must recognize the critical role in their child’s life and education,” said Hogan.
“We stand by the changes we’ve made to Policy 713 and we believe that parents should be involved in every aspect of a young child’s education.”
Some have claimed that Policy 713 violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms but the government disagrees, saying that it’s simply meant to inform parents.
“If it’s close to their given name, one wouldn’t normally presuppose anything. If it isn’t the name, and they’re wondering about it, a teacher can always ask,” explained Hogan.
“We’re talking about a name that’s attached to a different gender than what they are identified with, with their parents.”
New Brunswick’s policy has led to similar changes in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Saskatchewan’s Education Minister Dustin Duncan announced this week that they will be standardizing pronoun and naming policies by requiring consent for students under the age of 16.
“If we are requiring school divisions to get parental consent to a half-day field trip to the science centre, I think we need to be treating this issue with the same amount of seriousness,” said Duncan.
“Those are all situations and scenarios that we’re going to be working with school divisions so that we can provide clarity to what the policy would look like.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe endorsed the policy on social media saying that parents deserve to be included in all aspects of their children’s education.
“Parents must be included in all important decisions involving their children,” said Moe.
“Our government has heard the concerns raised by Saskatchewan parents about needing to be notified and included in their children’s education.”
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Premier Heather Stefanson also pledged to enhance parental rights if re-elected this fall, saying parents should be informed if their child is wanting to identify as a different gender at school.
