The provincial government has ratified the controversial Parents' Bill of Rights.
It's proven to be a powder keg since it was first brought forward in August. The bill requires parental consent if a youth under the age of 16 wants to be referred by a different pronoun or name at school, and is viewed as putting trans and gender-diverse students at risk.
The provincial government has been so bullish on this document that Premier Scott Moe recalled the Saskatchewan legislature two weeks early to approve the new rules and vowed to use the notwithstanding clause to override a section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the province’s human rights code – a rarity for this province.
Those who are hoping this matter is now closed are sadly mistaken. It's going to linger for a while. The government is going to continue to defend the document and the opposition will continue with its criticism. There will be court fights over the document.
And with the provincial election a little more than a year away, you know that it will be back in the spotlight next fall.
I'll preface my comments by reminding everyone that I'm not a parent. If I had kids, I'd want to know anything and everything about my children: what they're doing in school, how their grades are, what their interests are (both in and out of the classroom) what they're doing in the community and where they are.
My parents took a strong interest in the lives of my sister and me, preaching traits like work ethic, respect and accountability, and I think it's the way to go.
But I'm also smart enough to know about the risks associated with this Parents' Bill of Rights, that it's going to out LGBTQ children before they're ready, and some kids are from homes in which they will not receive support from parents for who they are. That's the danger associated with this document.
The government defends the policy, citing public opinion polls that show more than 80 per cent support. Yet there have been constant calls for a pause during the past two months. It's not just the NDP, their supporters and the teachers' union that have wanted to see The Parents' Bill of Rights shelved, it's the school boards, constitutional scholars, LGBTQ advocates and so many more who wanted the delay.
We've learned in the past how a vocal minority can create an illusion in which the opposition seems to be larger than it really is. And so perhaps the support for the legislation is around the 80 per cent mark like the August poll numbers indicated.
Or perhaps support for it has waned in the past couple of months as people have learned more, or perhaps people support some form of this document but not all of it, or perhaps they've been turned off over the way the government has handled the situation.
It really does make you wonder why the government is so focused on forcing the legislation through. Is it really that concerned about losing support to the Saskatchewan United Party and the Buffalo Party, so it is ramrodding a document that clearly appeals to the strong conservative supporters? If so, they're at risk of alienating the centrist and small-C conservative backers that have played such an important role in the Sask. Party's landslide electoral victories.
Public opinion polls show that the New Democratic Party is quickly gaining on the Sask. Party, a thought that would have seemed nearly impossible a year ago.
And while the government has been focused on this legislation, there have been other more pressing matters that haven't received as much attention as they should. A new contract for the province's teachers. A perceived lack of funding for classrooms. The rising cost of living. A myriad of problems facing the health-care sector. (Granted, the latter two are definitely not Saskatchewan-only issues). And there's the impact on Saskatchewan from the federal government's overly-stringent Clean Electricity Regulations.
One of the requirements of any government is the ability to juggle a host of issues simultaneously. But with each issue you add to the plate, it affects your ability to tackle the others.
They're going to have to pay attention to the Parents' Bill of Rights for a while yet.
