Judge says 'chaos' can't continue as province, Anglophone East appear in court

A judge says there needs to be clarity before September over "who's calling the shots at the Anglophone East" as its school board and the province's education minister clash over a gender identity policy.

"This chaos cannot continue," Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare said Friday to lawyers representing the sides.

"And by the time students return to classes in September, everybody needs to know who is calling the shots at the Anglophone East School District."

DeWare made the comments during a case management conference in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Policy 713, filed by the the education council against the province and Education Minister Bill Hogan.

The education minister changed the policy last year to require parental consent before using the preferred name or pronoun for students under 16 years old. 

The education council's case alleges the policy violates student rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Education Act and the provincial Human Rights Act. The council, which oversees 39 schools with 20,000 students in the Moncton region, passed its own policy that says staff should respect a student's wishes.

It's a policy Hogan has demanded be revoked. The district has sought an injunction to prevent Hogan from revoking it and to block him from dissolving the council.

Hogan had set Thursday at 5 p.m. as a deadline for the district to halt spending on the case. After the district refused, Hogan announced he would seek to dissolve the council. 

Under the Education Act, that step requires cabinet approval and an application to the Court of King's Bench where a judge would decide the issue. That application has not yet been filed. 

The dissolution request was discussed in court Friday where it became clear it wouldn't be a fast process. 

"If the minister decides to pursue the dissolution of the council, of course he'll have to file an application," DeWare said. "That needs to be scheduled by the court, so that's not going to take anyone by surprise."

The judge added, "It's not going to happen in the shadows, or it's not going to happen on short notice."

The judge said if the injunction Anglophone East is seeking isn't granted and the minister applies for dissolution, "then very quickly you can see how we're going to run up against September, and I would hope for all concerned that these issues are resolved by that time."

DeWare spoke after hearing from lawyers for Anglophone East and Hogan about the injunction hearing dates.