John Carpay: Claiming That Children Have Adult Rights Is a Perversion of the Canadian Charter

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a debate in the legislature in Regina on Oct. 10, 2023. The Saskatchewan government plans to invoke the notwithstanding clause to override a judge’s injunction and introduce legislation on the province’s pronoun policy in schools. The Canadian Press/Heywood Yu

Commentary

In August of 2023, the UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity filed a court application seeking to strike down Saskatchewan’s “Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns by Students” policy. The policy requires parental consent when children under the age of 16 wish to use opposite-sex names and pronouns at school, referred to as “social transition.” This “social transition” can lead to children receiving puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones, and eventually life-altering surgeries that will render them permanently infertile.