Sask. labour groups to hold rally over pronoun policy as rush legislative session begins
CTV
Saskatchewan labour groups are holding a rally at the legislative building on Tuesday, as provincial lawmakers gather two weeks early to pass a controversial piece of legislation.
Saskatchewan labour groups are holding a rally at the legislative building on Tuesday, as provincial lawmakers gather two weeks early to pass a controversial piece of legislation.
Premier Scott Moe vowed to invoke the notwithstanding clause after a King’s Bench judge ordered a temporary injunction of an educational policy that would require students under 16-years-old to seek parental consent before changing their pronouns or preferred names in a school setting.
Critics including the provincial children’s advocate, Saskatchewan lawyers, Canada’s justice minister, and LGTBQ2S+ groups have said the policy would be in violation of children’s Charter rights.
Moe described the injunction, enacted until the court could rule on the Charter issues raised in a lawsuit by a University of Regina Pride organization, as “judicial overreach of the court.”
In an event posted to the SGEU’s website, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour asked the public to meet them on the steps of the legislative building from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday to “protest this irresponsible and unnecessary use of the notwithstanding clause.”
“Premier Scott Moe's use of this clause is a dangerous move that threatens the rights of all Canadians,” SGEU writes.
“If the premier sincerely believed his policy was right, he would allow it to be deliberated through the courts.”