Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has pledged to introduce a parental rights bill to the legislature this fall which would require parental consent for kids under the age of 16 who want to change their pronouns at school.
Moe said on X (formerly Twitter) that his government will not back down to pressure by “out of province interest groups.”
“In light of some criticism and court challenges funded by out of province interest groups, our government has been asked if we are serious about protecting parents’ rights in education or if we plan to back down,” posted Moe in response to a CTV story.
“Last night, I answered that question. We are not backing down. We are very serious – serious enough that the first bill we introduce when we return to the Legislature this fall will be legislation to protect parental rights.”
Saskatchewan Premier Moe joined the ranks of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson in advocating for parental consent for minors with regard to gender transitions at schools.
At the time of the policy’s announcement, Premier Moe emphasized the importance of parental participation, saying “parents must be included in all important decisions involving their children.”
“Education Minister Dustin Duncan today announced that all Saskatchewan schools will have a consistent policy on parental inclusion and consent,” wrote Moe.
In addition to the parental consent requirement, the Saskatchewan government has introduced other measures to address concerns about inappropriate sex education in schools.
Schools will now be obligated to disclose information about their sex education teachings to parents, providing them with the option to opt-out if they choose to do so.
Furthermore, the government has taken the step of suspending third-party sex education providers, including the ARC Foundation and its controversial SOGI 1 2 3 program, from the province’s schools.
Earlier this summer, Saskatchewan suspended Planned Parenthood from the province’s schools following an incident in which the organization made sexually explicit “Sex from A-Z” cards available to grade 9 students.
These cards, developed by the AIDS Committee of Toronto in collaboration with the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), contained explicit language about various graphic sexual acts and fetishes.
