2SLGBTQ+ concerns should be a top priority this election, advocates say

After a tumultuous year that saw the passing of Bill 137 and increases in transphobia and homophobia, advocates and a political scientist say the concerns of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Saskatchewan should be a top priority in the coming provincial election.

"It is so near and dear to us, because how a government could really use the notwithstanding clause, especially in a dismissive and catastrophic way, but then just move on as if that's business as usual? … It just creates desensitization among the population," said Megan Wells, a Saskatoon mother of a queer teenager.

Bill 137, titled the Parents' Bill of Rights,  requires students under 16 to get parental consent to use a different gender-related name or pronoun at school. It also requires schools to give parents notice of any planned sexual education classes and allow them to withdraw their children. The province invoked the notwithstanding clause in the law to sidestep any challenges based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Wells said she still remembers the call from her daughter's school last year when Bill 137 was enacted. She said it was exasperating to see school administration waste vital time on "something as silly as calling a parent about how a child identifies in the classroom."

Bou Wells, 14, identifies as pangender and lesbian. She has been using she/they pronouns since Grade 8.

"Bou's also neurodivergent. I've never received calls about how she would be accommodated in the classroom," Megan said. "Bill 137 is just an unfortunate chapter in our province."

Asked about the bill last week, Scott Moe said parents should be involved in their children's education.

"It's this government's view that they have a right to be involved in the classes that their children should choose," he said.

"An NDP party would remove Bill 137, would remove the rights that parents have to be involved in their children's education and to be involved in their children's lives. And what essentially creates an environment where a teacher could keep secrets from parents."

Moe said there are "no sides" in this debate and that everyone is "on the child's side."

But Bou said it's crucial for children to be able to explore their identities."Some people still think that it's just a couple of kids who are affected by it, but honestly it affects everyone. It affects our entire province. It endangers our youth," she said.

Bou said she wishes she could vote, as she is "seeing many kids with unsafe households" curbing their curiosity.

"It's definitely very unfortunate that it's targeting the youth that don't have any say in it," she said.

Regina parent Jasper Allan Holtslander said his eldest child, who is non-binary, is suffering.