Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a press conference before the speech from the throne in Regina, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Moe says he doesn't know how teachers would be punished it they don't follow the province's pronoun law. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu)

By The Canadian Press

PRONOUN POLICY

Moe says he doesn’t know how teachers would be punished for not following pronoun law

Nov 15, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he doesn’t know how teachers would be punished if they don’t follow the province’s pronoun law.

Moe told reporters Tuesday it would be up to school divisions to outline potential disciplinary action.

“I don’t know what the repercussions would be for a teacher not following any of the protocols in place that their employer might have,” Moe said.

“These protocols have been in place, and we’d expect the teacher to follow it and hope they do.”

Last week, dozens of teachers signed a petition saying they won’t follow the new law, which prevents children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent.

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The petition says the legislation harms gender-diverse students, as it could force them to come out or have teachers misgender them. It adds teachers want to ensure children who could be harmed have access to a safe space.

The rule was part of a provincial policy announced in August. In September, a judge granted an injunction until a court challenge could be heard, saying the protection of gender-diverse youth surpasses the interest of the government.

The Saskatchewan Party government then struck an emergency sitting to put the policy into legislation, using the notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code.

As a result, some school divisions are reviewing their guidelines.

However, they have not outlined any consequences teachers would face should they not follow the pronoun law.

While Moe said the government has not had discussions about policing divisions to make sure they’re abiding by it, he didn’t rule out checking in on them at some point.

“I don’t know what those protocols are and if they differ between various school divisions, but it’s an inquiry we may make at some point in time, but I have not made it yet,” Moe said.

The law has been criticized by the province’s Human Rights Commission, which said invoking the notwithstanding clause significantly affects the rights of minors.

A report from Saskatchewan child advocate Lisa Broda also said it violates rights to gender identity and expression.

Moe has said the law has broad support from parents, who he believes need to be involved when their children make decisions around gender and pronouns.

If it’s believed a student would be harmed because of the consent requirement, the law says the school’s principal is to direct the student to a counsellor.

“I would hope that we can all find a place where we ultimately are working together to ensure that the child is being supported,” Moe said.

Carla Beck, the Saskatchewan NDP Opposition leader, said Tuesday the province should scrap the legislation.

She said teachers considering not following the law should reach out to their union and employer.

“It’s the reasonably foreseeable consequences you get when you don’t consult on a bill as impactful as this,” Beck said.

She said she has not heard widespread concern over pronouns at school.

“To deal with an issue that now they seem to not even want to talk about, my speculation would be there was political interest from this government. But unfortunately, the impacts continue to impact people in our schools, vulnerable kids in our schools today.”