Canadian province changes LGBT policy in schools to ‘recognize role of parents’

TORONTO, June 9 (Reuters) – The ruling Conservatives in Canada’s New Brunswick province this week made changes to rules for schools to recognize “the role of parents” on gender identity issues, but have met opposition from within their own ranks Party.

The earlier 2020 policy said teachers must respect the names and pronouns chosen by children, regardless of age, and that it should be left to the student to decide whether their parents were informed.

On Thursday, the province’s Secretary of Education, Bill Hogan, announced changes to that policy. Beginning July 1, children under the age of 16 must obtain parental consent to change their names and pronouns at school.

Another change to the policy removes a reference to allowing students to participate in activities “consistent with their gender identity.” Also, there is a new requirement that gender-neutral washrooms must be private.

Blaine Higgs, prime minister of New Brunswick’s Progressive Conservatives, said the policy change “recognises the role of parents” but was immediately met with opposition from within his own party when eight MPs – including six cabinet members – boycotted the House on Thursday.

In a joint statement, the eight MPs said they expressed “extreme disappointment at the lack of process and transparency”.

Should those MPs withdraw their support for him, Higgs said there was a possibility of a snap general election.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended an LGBTQ+ event in Toronto on Thursday, spoke out against the move.

“Right now in New Brunswick, trans kids are being told they don’t have the right to be their true selves, that they have to ask for permission,” he said. “Trans children need to feel safe and not be targeted by politicians.”

The debate in New Brunswick mirrors similar debates in the United States, where it has become a cultural issue between the two main parties in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election.

Indiana enacted a law requiring teachers to notify parents when students ask to be addressed by a new name or pronoun. North Dakota passed a law allowing public school teachers and government employees to ignore requests to use a transgender person’s preferred pronoun.

Reporting by Sam Jabri-Pickett in Toronto; Edited by Steve Scherer and Rosalba O’Brien

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