Saskatchewan’s New Series ‘Transphobia’: A Show About Nothing!
Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan government shows empty hands in court, doubling down on suspending Charter rights of trans children
Well, that was downright embarrassing for the Saskatchewan government.
But first, a quick recap.
Last month, the Saskatchewan government announced that trans students under age 16 must have parental consent to change their names or pronouns. Not legally change them, mind you — just socially within the school.
That August announcement was made in the summer doldrums when the legislature was not in session and without any quantifiable external consultation.
The responses by LGBTQ advocacy groups, teachers, medical professionals, and regular Saskatchewan citizens who support the LGBTQ community were immediate and vocal.
After a few weeks of having his constituents dare to question his received wisdom, on September 14 Premier Scott Moe publicly raised the specter of invoking the “notwithstanding clause” to suspend the Charter rights of a minority group in the name of “parents’ rights.”
On September 16, I wrote about the sordid history of the notwithstanding clause here…