Education minister hasn't read DECs' changes to Policy 713 on gender identity
4 DEC policies mandate respecting all students' chosen names and pronouns, regardless of parental consent
In the spring, New Brunswick's Minister of Education Bill Hogan introduced changes to Policy 713 on sexual orientation and gender identity. Hogan said the policy now bans teachers and staff from using a child under 16's chosen name and pronoun unless a parent consents.
A few weeks later, two anglophone and two francophone district education councils passed motions to revert to the old policy, mandating that staff must respect all children's chosen names and pronouns regardless of age and parental consent status.
Council chairs said the old policy is meant to protect children whose only safe space is school, and school psychologists say denying a child's request for a certain name or pronoun causes more harm than using it.
The union of school psychologists and social workers is grieving the minister's changes, alleging they contradict the collective agreement by forcing them to do harm.
Hogan said the goal of his changes is to protect "parents' rights" to be consulted if their child requests an informal name or pronoun change.
The policy has always made it mandatory to get parental consent for official name and pronoun changes for kids under 16.
Hogan said he's received "hundreds" of complaints about the policy, though very few have been made public, none of them mentioning the policy specifically.
Who has the power?
The original 2020 version of Policy 713 and the updated version allow district education councils to "develop policies and procedures that are consistent with, or more comprehensive than, this provincial policy."
Anglophone East, Anglophone South, Francophone South and Francophone Northeast are the districts that reverted to the old policy in late June
Hogan did not provide interviews on this topic at the time. A spokesperson said the department will review the policies created by the councils.
This week, Hogan said he has not yet read the policies, but has read about them in news reports and believes the provincial policy supercedes the council ones.
"District [councils] have the authority to improve or strengthen a provincial policy, but they can't do anything that is contrary to the provincial policy," he said.
When asked whether he thinks the council policies are contrary, Hogan said he hasn't read them, and he's waiting for the results of a review by the child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock, expected next week.
Anglophone West and Francophone Northwest councils say they will listen to input from parents before making a decision. Anglophone West has previously said it supports the original policy and any changes made by the province should only strengthen it.
Hogan also said he approves of councils that are still gathering input and more information.
He said the other councils did not send him the policies, and he did not ask for them.
Kelly
Lamrock, New Brunswick’s child, youth and seniors’ advocate, is
expected to release the results of his review of the provincial changes
to Policy 713. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Anglophone East council chair Harry Doyle said he believes the council policy is consistent with 713 because the provincial policy's entire purpose is to protect LGBTQ children, not parents.
"I respect the parents too," he said. "But nevertheless, if a kid says that 'if I go home and tell them about this, I'm maybe not welcomed at home anymore' ... Our first responsibility is to the person sitting in front of us, the kids."
Doyle, who has been a guidance counsellor, teacher and school principal during his 35-year career, said the council unanimously passed the motion to revert to the old policy because it was 10 years in the making and was done with consultations with experts and school staff on the ground.
"And if [Hogan] says 'well, it's the parents,' I guess that's where we disagree, really."
Doyle said when council passed policies that add to provincial policies, the council policies are the ones that must be followed.
Anglophone North council chair Joseph Petersen said his council is meeting later this month. While he can't say the council will also vote in a different policy, he said all councillors agree that the original policy should not have been changed.
Both Petersen and Doyle said they were "disappointed" that Hogan hasn't yet read their policies. Hogan said the councils did not send him their new policies, but he also did not ask for them. The Education Act does not explicitly require minister approval for all council policies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Content Deactivated
Welcome back to the circus
Reading is hard, especially for cons. Why none have actually read the brief policy that upsets them so much. They prefer to have someone else tell them what might be in there.
I'm sure Hogan will find the time someday.
David Amos
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Reply to Al Clark
Yea Right
Reply to Al Clark
I'm sure Hogan will find the time someday to read my emails as well.
Matt Steele
Policy 713 has already been re-written , and settled . Time to move on to more important issues that are plaguing our nation , and there are many to choose from .
Art McCarthy
Reply to Matt Steele
It's a policy; as easily and cynically as it was updated, those updates can be revoked. There is no requirement for a note from the monarch or even the chief big got.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to Matt Steele
Settled? Hardly. A motion adopted in the legislature on June 15 asked the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate to consult relevant stakeholders on the changes made to Policy 713. In particular, Lamrock's office was concerned with whether the policy conforms with federal and provincial human rights codes, with constitutional principles under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and with international treaties to which Canada is a signatory. Lamrock's report is due out next week, and the legislature sits again in October.
David Amos
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Reply to Art McCarthy
True with a stroke of the pen Higgy get his way with many things for quite a while
David Amos
Reply to Matt Steele
Where did Mr McCarthy go
Colin Seeley
Totally disagree with Higgs Govt on policy 713.
But.
My vote will be going to the party that declares it’s not going to support the Carbon Tax.
Micheal Wilson
Reply to Colin Seeley
Mine too. Carbon tax needs to go.
Bob Smith
Reply to Colin Seeley
The carbon tax is not a provincial mandated tax. Higgs opposition to it was just prolonging the implementation.
Timothy Walton
Reply to Colin Seeley
Now, explain to me how any party in a provincial election has any say on the federal carbon tax.
Michael Cain
Reply to Micheal Wilson
Never seemed to be a problem with the provinces collecting it and using it to pay down the debt. Now that people are going to get a rebate cheque, there is a problem? Of course, Higgs could pull a fast one like he did by changing legislation in May to allow Irving to pass off the clean fuel surtax onto the customers.
Colin Seeley
Reply to Bob Smith
So why is Tim Houston opposed to it . Perhaps it’s the economy huh.
Al Clark
Reply to Bob Smith
Higgs' opposition cost us millions in lawyer bills PLUS the loss of the refund for several years.
David Amos
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Reply to Al Clark
Cry me a river
kenneth wagner.
Reply to Colin Seeley
Who cares about human rights as long as you don't get mildly inconvenienced at the pumps, eh?
kenneth wagner
Reply to Colin Seeley
Ideology, plain and simple.
David Amos
Reply to Colin Seeley
I must be confusing to be a PC Party member these days EH?
Doug kirby
I guarantee he has read it
David Amos
Reply to Doug kirby
Of course he has
Art McCarthy
I suspect Minister Hogan never read the original policy as well.
Al Clark
Reply to Art McCarthy
Yup!
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
Dream on
G. Timothy Walton
Hogan has sometimes commented on his own policies and either admitted he hadn't read them or made statements at odds with what's actually set down in writing. I guess they count as data, and we all know what that's worth with this government.
David Amos
Reply to G. Timothy Walton
Hogan is truly comical
Graham McCormack
One of the most controversial policy changes in this Minister's tenure and yet he hasn't read what the DECs changes are. Unbelievable!
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Graham McCormack
Yeah he certainly lacks self awareness if he doesn't think that's an embarrassing thing to say. I mean come on man, you're the minister, we kind of pay you to read this stuff. Couldn't even have an assistant read it and email him the bullet points. If I told my boss I couldn't comment on things relevant to my job because I didn't bother reading them, I'd be looking for a new job.
David Amos
Reply to Graham McCormack
Trust that nobody believes him but it makes for a great circus
Marcel Belanger
Simple, Higgs just needs to step back from his authoritarian style of governing and let the experts who wrote policy 713 decide. Contrary to his beliefs he’s not the knower of all things.
David Amos
Reply to Marcel Belanger
Are you sure about that?
Kyle Woodman
Could the government please in the very least offer up what they consider parents rights in the legal sense? By that I mean a sound legal definition of the term, including relevant case law. Google only gives me right wing, mostly religious, mostly American context. I have a hard time finding any legal definition of the term parents rights in the Canadian legal context.
Michael Cain
Reply to Kyle Woodman
https://www.legal-info-legale.nb.ca/en/index.php?page=parenting_rights_and_responsibilities
David Amos
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Reply to Kyle Woodman
Nobody cares
Toby Tolly
help me
in a recent interview I watched online on this site
I the person interviewed kept using "I"
However the person writing the article insisted on using "they"
just how does this work
??
David Amos
Reply to Toby Tolly
It doesn't work
Rhys Philbin
This topic has run its course.
Enough.
Bobby Richards
Reply to Rhys Philbin
I think you will see it all open up again in October when the legislature resumes
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards
Yup
Tom Smith
Reply to Rhys Philbin
If you really feel this way then this issue doesn't actually concern you. Please step aside.
David Amos
Reply to Tom Smith
Why should she?
Michael Cain
The government can keep their darn nose out of my family affairs. If my child wishes to discuss any issue, they will be talking to me when they feel it is appropriate.
Archie MacDaniel
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Reply to Michael Cain
Michael Cain
Reply to Archie MacDaniel
It is my business when the government sticks its nose in my private affairs.
Diana Short
There are no such thing as parent's rights. Full stop. You have the rights that every other Canadian has. If you are a parent, you do hwoever have extra responsibilities....that is to do what is best for your child, at all times. There are no specific rights extended to parent's. It's an irresponsible narrative to keep spreading by this Government.
Mark Benson
Reply to Diana Short
But who decides what’s best for the child?
Michael Cain
Reply to Mark Benson
The child.
Mark Benson
Reply to Michael Cain
So when my kids says no bed time and candy for supper is what’s best I should listen
Michael Cain
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Michael Cain
Reply to Michael Cain
that is "lead by example"
Micah White
Reply to Diana Short
I would politely disagree on that one.
Canadian law absolutely recognizes the vital role that parents play in a child's life and grants them specific rights to facilitate their caregiving duties. These rights can be removed by law due to proven neglect/risk however.
Here's an overview of some rights that pertain to parents in Canada:
Decision-making Authority: Parents in Canada have the right to make decisions for their minor children regarding healthcare, education, religion, and more.
Physical Custody: Parents generally have the right to live with their children and decide where they live, as long as it's in the best interest of the child.
Legal Responsibility for Care: Parents are legally obligated to care for and supervise their minor children, including providing necessary food, shelter, and healthcare.
Access to Records: Parents typically have the right to access their children’s school and medical records.
Ability to Consent: Parents have the ability to give consent on behalf of their minor children in various matters, such as medical treatment.
Control Over Finances: Parents often have control over their minor children's finances and may manage bank accounts in the child's name.
Educational Rights: Parents have the right to be involved in their child's education and can choose the type of schooling (public, private, or home-schooling) they believe is best for their child.
Representation in Legal Matters: Parents generally have the right to represent their minor children in legal matters.
Travel Rights: Parents typically have the right to travel with their children and control their ability to travel outside the country.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Micah White
Can you provide the legal basis for your points? Case law?
Michael Cain
Reply to Kyle Woodman
If you were a lawyer, not an issue. The child has rights.
David Amos
Reply to Diana Short
So you say but who responsible if a kid breaks your window?
David Amos
Reply to Micah White
Well put
David Amos
Reply to Michael Cain
So do the unborn
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Welcome back to the circus
Greg Ellis
If a student feels more safe at school than at home, that's a redflag. Maybe these parents that are so concerned should try talking to their kids.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to Greg Ellis
And maybe they should try talking to their kids in a way that actually allows room for the kids to voice opinions without being talked down, let alone without having to fear the consequences.
Christine Martinez
Reply to Greg Ellis
Indeed. "Council chairs said the old policy is meant to protect children whose only safe space is school"
If they truly feel that some homes are not a safe space, then they are mandated, by law, to take action and report it. These articles, and the councils themselves, conveniently forget that fact when discussing this subject.
David Amos
Reply to Greg Ellis
Who says they are not?
SarahRose Werner
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SarahRose Werner
Reply to SarahRose Werner
Never mind re: review - found it in the article, due out next week.
Matt Steele
It is obvious that whatever policy that Minister of Education Hogan , and the Department of Education has in place is the policy that the teachers will be following . The DEC's are only advisory bodies , and have no legal authority to over ride government policy or legislation . Since the teachers work for the Department of Education , then they will follow the policy as outlined by the department . It is not hard to understand if anyone has the basic understanding of how government functions , and its legislative authority . It is what it is .
louis LaPierre
Reply to Matt Steele
Must be a government official reply, clearly demonstrate a total lack of the current world.
Louis Léger
Reply to Matt Steele
It's obviously not obvious, because the DECs' position is the exact opposite of what you just outlined.
John Smith
Reply to Matt Steele
It doesn't matter who your employer is, a good person will always to the correct thing, so my money is on the teachers.
David Amos
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Reply to John Smith
One thing is for certain our money is paying for this circus
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