Saskatchewan’s justice minister says critics of Saskatchewan’s provincial school flag policy are overstating the financial impact of the new rule.
As part of a revision of Saskatchewan’s Education Act to require parental consent for youth under 16 to use a different pronoun in school, the Saskatchewan Party government also made it mandatory to fly the provincial flag in schools.
Some school divisions contacted by CTV News declined to comment on the new policy.
However, the Prairie Valley School Division said 25 of its 39 schools have only one outdoor flagpole — meaning more may need to be installed.
Earlier this week, NDP Leader Carla Beck said the government should foot the bill given the budget pressures facing school divisions.
“Who’s going to pay for this?” she asked. “I would expect that a government calling us into an emergency meeting would have thought about it in advance.”
Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre rejected Beck’s argument.
“I understand you can buy flags and poles pretty cheaply at Canadian Tire,” Eyre said.
She continued that Quebecers’ love for their flag “borders on the spiritual.”
“Why should this love, this connection, this historical connection and bond be limited to one province? We have that too,” said Eyre.
The province said it is still working to determine how many flags will be needed to supply the 600 schools across Saskatchewan.
In addition to the flag and pronoun policies introduced during last month’s extraordinary legislative session, the government has made changes to allow parents to exclude their children from sexual health presentations.
The legislature’s emergency recall came after a judge put the pronoun policy on hold until it could be fully tested in court.
– With files from Donovan Maess
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