Premier Scott Moe in the Village of Shell Lake. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Doubling Down

Moe not budging on education policy changes despite several protests against

Sep 3, 2023 | 4:00 PM

Tuesday is the first day of school which means the newest changes to the province’s education policy will officially come into effect.

Last month, the Government of Saskatchewan announced schools would have to have permission from a parent or guardian when a student under the age of 16 wanted to change their name or gender, provide updates to families on its sexual health curriculum, and stop having third parties take part in lessons.

This has led to a lot of opposition from different organizations and groups such as the Sask. NDP.

Despite this, the province isn’t budging. Premier Scott Moe, who was in Shell Lake on the Labour Day Long Weekend, told paNOW these changes make the overall policy more inclusive.

“It’s designed to include parents in their child’s school and child’s education. When there’s an opportunity to bring parents closer to their children’s education, we are most certainly looking at implementing that type of policy,” he said.

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Moe did acknowledge that he’s aware of several rallies happening, including in front of the Saskatchewan Legislature in Regina and Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill’s office in North Battleford. However, he explained these changes were what a majority of people wanted.

“This policy was developed by MLAs talking with their constituents across the province and what many of their constituents wanted to see,” he said.

Meanwhile, Moe is encouraging parents and guardians to reach out to their schools.

Whether they agree with the changes or not, he believes they should be up to speed with their children’s entire education.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow