People protesting changes to Saskatchewan's education policy in North Battleford. (Submitted Photo/Kelly Waters)

By Teena Monteleone

Protesting Changes

Protestors against new school policies gather in North Battleford

Sep 3, 2023 | 3:00 PM

About 100 people gathered in front of newly appointed Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill’s MLA office in North Battleford Sunday afternoon.

It was one of several protests that have occurred throughout the province since the government introduced new school policies. Parental consent will now be required before schools can accommodate a student’s request for a name or pronoun change. The new policies also prevent schools from bringing in third parties to help teach sexual education and allows parents to excuse their children from the lessons.

Kelly Waters, a teacher by trade, was the co-organizer of the protest. She is also very active in the Battlefords area Pride group. She says the students these new policies affect are already vulnerable, and it takes away the idea of school being a safe space for expressing identity.

“It takes away autonomy and privacy for those students and discourages them from being open about who they are if they are concerned that it’s not a safe space to do so at home,” said Waters. “For some, school is one of few safe spaces for students. And, even if home is a safe space, it can be a very personal and vulnerable act to tell your parents you think you identify as non-binary… the fear of rejection from family is huge and is one of the leading factors in self-harm for non-binary and especially trans youth.”

People protesting changes to Saskatchewan’s education policy in North Battleford. (Submitted Photo/Kelly Waters)

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Waters is also concerned parents who excuse their students from sexual education will be missing out on valuable lessons.

“Parents don’t realize sex education isn’t necessarily about sex per se. It’s about having healthy relationships, what is informed consent and how you set boundaries. A lot of it is healthy relationships and it’s really helpful to bring in experts for support in the classroom. It’s a huge loss for the students to have that taken away. It’s not logical and there’s already enough on teachers trying to deliver the curriculum,” Waters said.

Bobbisue Thompson is a transgender woman and president of Battlefords Pride. She is calling on Cockrill to rescind the policies.

“We can’t blame the new minister, but he has the chance to take this opportunity in his new power to revoke this. It’s unfair and dangerous.”

Thompson is worried more transgender youth could end up on the streets.

“I know kids who have been thrown out of their homes because they were found to be transgender and that’s scary,” said Thompson. “I have had to come to the rescue of a child who was kicked out of foster care on an hour’s notice after they found out he was transgender. Where does a 14-year-old kid go? They don’t know. They’re just out on their own.”

She said the government should have consulted with the people who would be affected by the changes.

“They should have been talking to child psychologists too, who are familiar with the LGBT community and teachers who have dealt with this situation to find out what the proper course of action is, and to me, that is to always support the child.”

People protesting changes to Saskatchewan’s education policy in North Battleford. (Grant Schutte/CJNB)

Waters agreed and said the policies are a move in the wrong direction.

“I felt like things were just starting to go in the right direction as far as educating society on understanding and being tolerant and supportive and this is just a slap in the face of all the efforts that have been made over the last five or ten years,” said Waters.

Late last week, a community organization representing LGBTQ+ people in Regina filed a lawsuit against the government over the pronoun policy and is requesting a judge strike down the changes.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena