Quebec’s education minister says he will not create a legislative committee on gender identity, stating he prefers a panel of experts to study the issue and avoid political exploitation.
Minister Bernard Drainville said on Sept. 13 at a news conference that the issue could be exploited for partisan reasons by political parties during committee hearings, and so he preferred to put in place an expert panel by Christmas to consider the issues.
The statement by the education minister followed calls by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, earlier in the day for a parliamentary commission to consider hotly debated issues surrounding gendered bathrooms, new pronouns, and youth with gender dysphoria.
“I see a lot of ideology coming from the radical left that is imposed, and that’s where I have a problem, when we impose concepts, ways of doing new programs in the education system without prior democratic debate,” said Mr. Drainville.
Gender Headlines
A number of issues concerning gender identity have made the news in recent weeks.
A spokesperson for the school district, Centre de service scolaire des Hautes-Rivieres, south of Montreal, said the sharing of the letter on social media resulted in abuse and defamatory, threatening comments.
Mr. Drainville asked people to remain calm and told reporters that threats and insults were not acceptable and that the government would consider how students should address the “nonbinary” teacher.
Following this incident, Mr. Drainville said on Sept. 12 that he opposed a decision made by École secondaire d’Iberville in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, to undertake work to offer “gender-neutral” washrooms for boys and girls by the 2024–25 academic session.
Speaking on the issue at a news conference on the day Parliament reconvened in Quebec City, Mr. Drainville said the school “needs to rectify the situation.”
“We don’t think it’s a good idea” to have boys and girls in the same bathroom, he said.
“A young girl 12, 13, 14 years old who is starting to have her period, for example, and who leaves a stall, and there are 13-, 14-year-old boys looking at her. Insults, sarcasm, humiliation. A scenario we don’t want, so I think we have to draw a line and the line, we’re drawing it now.”
Other Provinces
Quebec is the most recent province to have entered the gender debate. On Aug. 28, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said parents must be “fully involved” if students want to change their gender identity or pronouns at school, but stopped short of committing to legislation on the issue. Instead, he said that the government’s position had been clearly communicated to school boards.“It’s not up to the teachers, it’s not up to the school board, to indoctrinate our kids,“ said Mr. Ford, ”it’s the parents’ responsibility to hear what the kids are doing.”
‘Parental Inclusion’ Policy
Saskatchewan is the latest province to bring in a new “parental inclusion and consent” policy. In part, it requires that schools seek permission from parents or guardians to change a child’s preferred name and pronouns used at school while they are under the age of 16.New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs implemented a similar policy on June 8. Mr. Higgs said the province had to find a solution “where we do not exclude parents in their child’s life.” He said the policy is “taking a strong position for families” and stands up for parents.
“We believe that it’s fundamentally wrong to not share this information with the parents if we are using [a student’s preferred name] on a daily basis,” Mr. Hogan said.
At a news conference in Manitoba on Aug. 17, Progressive Conservative Premier Heather Stefanson also announced her party would be proceeding with an updated policy on parental rights if reelected.
“You raised them and nurtured them, so who better than you—as parents—to know what’s best for your child as you send them off to school?” said Ms. Stefanson.
