New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have recently introduced policies regarding parents’ involvement in name and pronoun transitions for kids 15 and under. Manitoba’s government has hinted at introducing a similar policy should they win the upcoming election.
A close reading of New Brunswick’s and Saskatchewan’s policies reveals differences in the safeguards schools are required to provide to children. Additionally a dearth of data for kids 14 and under makes it difficult to determine how prevalent transitions actually are.
While the changes have been highly controversial, with advocates saying the policies will be harmful to LGBTQ+ students, a recent poll indicates a majority of Canadians across all parties believe that parents should be informed of a child’s name or pronoun changes.
Policy differences
In June, New Brunswick’s education minister Bill Hogan introduced a revision to the province’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy. Under the policy, students who are 16 and older may determine their preferred first name and pronouns without parental involvement.
For kids 15 and under, section 6.3.2 lays out a framework for schools to obtain parental consent for a child’s name or pronoun change. “Formal use of preferred first name for transgender or non-binary students under the age of 16 will require parental consent.”
“If it is not possible to obtain consent to talk to the parent, the student will be encouraged to communicate with the appropriate professionals to develop a plan to speak with their parents when they are ready to do so.”
It further adds that “[i]f it is not in the best interest of the student or could cause harm to them (physically or mentally) to talk with their parents, they will be encouraged to communicate with professionals for support.”
This section does not appear to give educators the ability to contact parents without the consent of the student.
On August 22, Saskatchewan announced its “new parental inclusion and consent policies.”
The policy, which took effect immediately, requires schools to “seek parent/guardian permission when changing the preferred name and pronouns used by students under the age of 16 in the school.”
Notably, it did not include a framework similar to New Brunswick’s, whereby the child is involved in the process of seeking parental consent.
The measure will standardize a requirement for seeking parental consent across the province. Previously, Saskatchewan’s “policies varied from one [school] division to another,” the media release notes.
Education Minister Dustin Duncan indicated the change was a response to “concerns raised by Saskatchewan parents.”
Majority favour parental involvement
According to an August 28 Angus Reid Institute survey, only 14 per cent of Canadians believe children should be allowed to change their names or pronouns without informing their parents.
Notably, respondents in the Atlantic provinces showed the highest support for children changing their names or pronouns without parental notification at 23 per cent. Saskatchewan respondents showed the lowest support at 10 per cent.
Past Liberal and NDP voters were less likely to say parents should consent to the changes, but a majority in each party say parents should be informed. Fully 94 per cent of past Conservative Party voters believed parents should be informed, while 69 per cent of Liberals and 55 per cent of NDP voters favoured parents being informed.
Statistics Canada did in 2021 collect data on gender identity — the first time any national statistics agency had done so. However it did not report data for those 14 and younger.
The data did show that one in 300 respondents aged 15 and older identify as transgender or non-binary, totaling roughly 100,000 people.
Percentages are higher for younger demographics. The rate for Gen Z is 0.79 per cent, for millennials 0.51 per cent, for Gen X 0.19 per cent, for baby boomers 0.15 per cent and for older generations 0.12 per cent.
Differing views on harm
The issue has become highly politicized, with federal politicians weighing in.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s right-wing politicians are peddling American right-wing politics. He has criticized the policies as anti-LGBTQIA2S+ and infringing on children’s rights.
Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has told Trudeau to “butt out and let provinces run schools and let parents raise kids.”
Right-wing politicians are using hateful policies to gain a voting base, said Adam Davies, assistant professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Guelph.
“The politicians behind these policies are very much being strategic in what they’re doing,” Davies said. “These right-wing politicians are utilizing this political moment of rising fear and hate and this populist moment that we’re in.”
Among those supporting the legislation is Nadine Ness, a former police officer and founder and president of Unified Grassroots, a community advocacy group.
A policy of not telling parents when children want to change their name or pronouns makes it so LGBTQ+ kids are unsupported in dangerous home environments, she said. With such a policy in place, children will be vocal when there is no support at home, allowing authorities to get involved to mitigate unsafe conditions, she says.
Ness, herself a victim of child sexual abuse, has experienced receiving help from social workers and law enforcement at a young age. “It actually created an environment that was safer at home because social services got involved.”
While Davies is also concerned about child safety, he has a different outlook on the effect of these policies.
“What’s especially harmful about these policies is the fact that many children live in home situations that are not safe,” he said. “Many parents are not up to date or informed around issues pertaining to gender identity and gender expression. So home, just in general for kids, might not be safe.”
“[These policies] will perhaps force students back into the closet or to stay in the closet,” says Jaris Swidrovich, assistant professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. His areas of research and practice include LGBTQ+ health and social determinants of health.
“We know there are tremendous detrimental health outcomes when someone lives a life where they have to suppress their identity or any part of their identity,” said Swidrovich, who is also a PhD candidate in education at the University of Saskatchewan.
“It’s well known and well documented that people who suppress part of their identity eventually go on to experience emotional and psychological problems.”
Manitoba pledges enhanced parental rights
Manitoba may be the next province to enhance parental rights. On August 17, Premier Heather Stefanson pledged that, if her government is re-elected in October, the province will increase parental rights under Manitoba’s Public Schools Act, which has not been updated in 30 years.
The party has released a framework outlining the proposed changes to the act. None of the proposed changes relate to parental rights over children’s name or pronoun changes.
But in response to a reporter’s question during an August 17 press conference, Stefanson did say she believes parents should be told about name or pronoun changes. She has said that any legislative changes will follow broad consultations with parents and educators.
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