Hundreds rally in Regina against pronoun policies as province pushes forward

Protesters against Saskatchewan’s controversial education policies gathered at the Legislative Building on Tuesday as the government worked to make the new policies law.

The new policies require parental approval for sex education classes, and when a young student wishes to change the name or pronouns they use in school.

Those policies expected to be turned into law in the next two weeks.

An injunction late last month put the policies on hold as a lawsuit makes its way through the courts, but Premier Scott Moe quickly announced his intention to use the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to bypass the court’s injunction. Moe also brought legislators back from their fall break early to push ahead with his goal to make the new policies law.

But as MLAs returned to Regina two weeks ahead of schedule, demonstrators both for and against the policies also descended on the provincial capital.

At first, both sides had music blaring, slowly ticking louder on either side. But once the protest against the policy began, the counter-protesters shut their music off.

Speakers and those in attendance explained their frustration with the government pushing ahead on the law and on using the notwithstanding clause to force it into place. They also shared their worries and fears for trans kids.

Police kept the peace as demonstrators both for and against Saskatchewan’s new education policies met in Regina on Tuesday. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

I’m at the legislature for the rally against the pronoun policies and use the the notwithstanding clause.
Many people here with pride flags and signs that say “protect trans kids”. There is a counter protest but it’s significantly smaller at this point pic.twitter.com/FVOR3IKt4H

— Lisa Schick (@LMSchickler) October 10, 2023

Memphis Hartman, 17, spoke to the crowd talking about his own experiences as a trans person in school. He said acceptance from his family wasn’t a given, so he experimented with his identity at school before coming out at home.

“I had support in my teachers, and that was the safe space, so going to them first was essential. There’s no one else who understands you like your teacher; they see you the most of the time other than your parents. If my parents hadn’t been supportive, I would have had my school to fall back on,” said Hartman.

He said for others, not having that support in school is a nightmare. Hartman said he knows others in the community who don’t have a supportive home and said they’re suffering right now.

Memphis Hartman, a trans teenager, explains how much being able to test out his identity at school helped him before coming out to his family. He spoke at Tuesday’s rally. Oct. 10, 2023 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Brielle Bright came all the way from Saskatoon for the rally. She is a trans woman and said these kinds of laws are something she’s been worried about for a long time.

“It’s been bad enough dealing with the Internet harassment, dealing with the increasingly hostile climate just walking down the street, and now mainstream political parties are starting to talk like mainstream political parties in the United States. They’re starting to adopt these talking points,” said Bright.

She held a sign that read ‘Let trans joy flourish, stop fascists,’ and said she chose those words because there’s a lot of focus on being combative when it comes to a policy she described as terrible.

“It’s also important to know that there’s joy in being trans. There’s joy in kids finding safe spaces at school, even if their parents might not be supportive,” explained Bright.

There were several hundred people protesting against the policy, soon to be law, on one side of the Queen Elizabeth II Garden, while a few dozen people in favour of the policies gathered on the opposite side.

After the rally was finished, the counterprotests were preparing to have some people speak to the crowd, but those opposing the policies got close and began chanting things like “love not hate” and “notwithstanding, we exist” at enough volume to drown out the loudspeaker.

Police formed a line to keep the two sides apart, and while there was some shouting back and forth, no one was hurt.

While many have been vocal in their criticisms – including previous rallies and a statement from the provincial children’s advocate calling the policies “discriminatory” – Moe has not wavered in his push to enshrine the new policies into law.

Moe has framed the policies as promoting greater parental involvement in education.

–with files from Lisa Schick and Lara Fominoff