Minister silent on next step in battle with education council
CBC
New Brunswick's education minister is staying silent for now about his next move in an increasingly acrimonious dispute with one of the province's school districts.
The Anglophone East district is challenging Bill Hogan in court, a legal battle that Hogan claims it doesn't have the authority to wage.
This week, Hogan vowed to take "further action" against the district, which he said in a letter on Monday is spending money on the court case "improperly and without the legal authority to do so."
Harry Doyle, the district education council chair, responded that Hogan has "no authority" to interfere with the district's decision to sue.
"The DEC is mandated to protect the students in its care," Doyle wrote in an April 16 letter.
"The current litigation is to ensure that students are being cared for in a manner conforming to the Charter and provincial statutes."
Hogan's office said it could not arrange an interview with the minister Thursday or say what he may do next.
During a hearing on the case Wednesday, the district's lawyer Perri Ravon said Hogan's correspondence "indicates a determination not only to have Policy 713 applied as soon as possible, but a determination to prevent Anglophone East from challenging it in court."
Last year's changes to the policy require parents be notified if their children under 16 want to change the names or pronouns they use in school to reflect their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Anglophone East council says the requirement violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the provincial Human Rights Act and the Education Act, and is asking the court to block its implementation.
Last year, the council adopted a modified version of the provincial policy, which it says Hogan has threatened to "quash."
In an April 11 letter, Doyle also accused Hogan of threatening to go to court to dissolve the council if it did not fall in line.
The case that was back in court this week includes an application for an injunction to block Hogan from doing that.
Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare set June 18-19 to hear arguments on that injunction application and the one that would block Hogan from quashing its version of the policy.
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