NB Premier Says He Won’t Back Down on Pledge to Give Parents Gender Policy Rights

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs takes part in an interview at his office in Fredericton on Dec. 20, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Stephen MacGillivray)

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he won’t back down on his government’s Policy 713 requiring parents to give consent before teachers use their children’s preferred names or pronouns, highlighting the importance of parental rights in the province.

“I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real, but we need to figure out how to manage it,” he said during a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.

Mr. Higgs said he expects the “very important” issue of parental rights will play a large role in his Progressive Conservative Party’s campaign for the next provincial election on Oct. 21, 2024. He said it was “shocking” that the original policy allowed teachers to not tell parents about whether their child was questioning their gender identity and looking to change their pronouns or names.

“I forget how it came to my attention originally, that we actually had a clause about … not telling parents,” he said. “So I said, ’that can’t be true. We can’t have a policy that says that.'”

The previous policy stated that schools should ask students for permission to contact their parents on the issue, but if it could not be obtained then “a plan will be put in place to support the student in managing the use of the preferred name.”

Policy 713, which was implemented in schools on July 1, now says that if teachers cannot obtain consent, the student will be “directed to the appropriate professional (i.e., school social worker or psychologist) to work with them in the development of a plan to speak with their parents if and when they are ready to do so.” The policy also removed a clause on curricular and extracurricular sports that said all students may participate in activities “consistent with their gender identity.”

‘Foundational to Our Society’

After Mr. Higgs announced the changes to the school policy on June 8, he received numerous letters from party-riding presidents calling for a leadership review. Eight members of his own party—including six cabinet ministers—chose to sit out on legislative business on June 8 in protest, and minister of post-secondary education Trevor Holder and minister of social development Dorothy Shephard both quit.

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While Mr. Higgs told reporters in June that his caucus and cabinet had held “endless meetings” on Policy 713 and that disagreements in his party could potentially force an election, he strongly believed in “finding a solution here where we do not exclude parents in their child’s life.”

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan said in a press release at the time: “We want to provide students, especially vulnerable students, with a safe space where they can learn and express themselves and grow, while ensuring parents also feel respected.”

In August, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also announced a policy requiring schools to get the permission of parents for students under the age of 16 expressing a desire to change pronouns. The premier then invoked the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Constitution to put the policy into effect.

In an interview with CHCO-TV on Dec. 24, Mr. Higgs cited Policy 713 as one of his government’s biggest accomplishments, in addition to achieving financial stability, increased private sector investment, and keeping taxes low.

“I am proud of the fact that we’ve created a discussion here around parental involvement of the children, because I think it’s foundational to our to our society, it’s foundational to who we are, and that families are important,” he said.

Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report.