CUPE is praising a decision by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which ruled that a legal challenge to Bill 137, known as the Parent’s Bill of Rights or the pronoun law, can proceed.
Saskatchewan’s highest court says courts can decide whether the legislation is unconstitutional. This after the Saskatchewan government pushed the bill through by enacting the notwithstanding clause.
The challenge by LGBTQ+ group, UR Pride, argued the law causes irreparable harm to gender diverse youth and its case should move ahead. The law came into effect in 2023 and it requires parental consent if children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
The government contended that by using the notwithstanding clause, the challenge to the law should end. The judge ruled that courts retain jurisdiction regardless.
In a news release Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan says, “This ruling tells anyone concerned about their rights that they will not be silenced – even by a government determined to trample the Charter.”
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samanatha Becotte also reacted, stating that “Along with the intervenors, we believe that Bill 137 inflicts harm on youth, and compels teachers and education workers to inflict said harm. Being allowed to move this challenge forward to the Court of King’s Bench is a positive step for gender-diverse students and we applaud the decision.”
The Province has since responded, as well, that it will “always protect parents’ rights to be involved in their children’s education”… and “Those parental rights were enshrined using the notwithstanding clause of the Charter and that law remains in effect.” It continued that because the matter remains before the Courts, there will be no further comment.
Meanwhile, other groups are calling for the Moe government to end the legal battle by repealing Bill 137. Saskatchewan Federation of Labour has closely followed the so-called 'parental rights' distraction since August 2023, and in a release says it’s encouraged by the Court of Appeal decision.
"Instead of a serious response to tariffs, wildfires, or understaffed hospitals, the Sask. Party keeps fighting students and educators in court. Wasting hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of taxpayer dollars on this fight is bizarre," said SFL President Lori Johb.
The sentiment is shared by the Opposition New Democratic Party. A joint statement by shadow ministers Nicole Sarauer for Justice, Jacqueline Roy for Human Rights, and Nathaniel Teed for 2SLGBTQ Affairs stated, “The Sask. Party has wasted thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting this case in the courts, and today they were handed another legal defeat.
After 18 years of the Sask. Party, Saskatchewan ranks last in Canada on crime, the cost of living, and healthcare — these are the issues the government should be focused on, not causing “irreparable harm” to vulnerable children.
Instead of continuing this witch hunt and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill, the Sask. Party should repeal Bill 137 and focus on what really matters to Saskatchewan people: fixing healthcare, stopping crime, and lowering costs for families.”
- with additional files from Discover Humboldt