Lise Merle is a parents rights advocate and lives in Saskatchewan
Eight months ago, I submitted an Access to Information request to Regina Public Schools under Saskatchewan’s Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP.)
As a parent of four children in the system, I sought records about myself, my children, and information on Regina Public Schools grotesque fixation on sexual orientation and gender identity.
What followed was a masterclass in evasion — and a $29,270 fee estimate that the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Saskatchewan has now eviscerated in a scathing 73-page report.
The Commissioner’s findings, publicly available on their website, paint a damning picture of Regina Public Schools conduct. Far from being innocuous, the Commissioner directed his ire at Regina Public School Division for its flagrant disregard of accountability.
The report assigns a litany of failures: missed deadlines, baseless privilege claims, and a “deemed refusal” to comply with the law.
My request, filed on June 20, 2024, was met with silence past the mandatory 30-day response period. The exorbitant fee estimate arrived 54 days later — a delay the Commissioner deemed a deliberate stall tactic, given it should have only taken three to five days to process.
Regina Public Schools excuses didn’t hold water. They labeled my request “complex,” yet couldn’t muster a numbered index of records. They cloaked 1,578 pages under “solicitor-client privilege,” despite most lacking legal substance, and misapplied “advice from officials” exemptions without evidence.
The Commissioner’s verdict? A failure to meet LA FOIP’s burden of proof, resulting in the exorbitant fee being struck down and thousands of additional pages ordered released — at no cost to me — due to their reckless secrecy. This isn’t mere incompetence; it’s a symptom of deeper rot.
Evidence uncovered in their initial document dump reveals Regina Public Schools collaborating with federally-funded gender activists, bypassing the Ministry of Education, and provincial jurisdiction.
More troubling, an August 2023 email from Kyla Christensen of the district’s DEI Office boasts to yet another federally funded gender activist of working with both Dr. McNinch, former Dean of Education at the University of Regina and, even more shockingly, with Bishop Carla Blakley — the pastor of Regina’s first gender-affirming church and spouse of NDP MLA Brent Blakley — to preemptively strategize against parents.
This isn’t education; it’s ideological strategizing against families, executed on the taxpayer dime.
Such actions likely violate multiple laws: parental rights under the Charter, duties under The Saskatchewan Education Act, and anti-discrimination protections in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code tied to family status.
The Commissioner’s report underscores this pattern of exclusion and coercion, noting the district’s struggle with responsibility and tendency to hide information parents and the public have a right to know.
Regina Public Schools dysfunction demands more than reform — it warrants dissolution by the Saskatchewan government.
By embedding a non-secular, radical gender-affirming pastor/activist within a secular system while stonewalling and gaslighting parents, Regina Public Schools undermines the neutral, inclusive environment mandated by provincial law.
This overreach tramples families fundamental rights to raise their children according to their own values, imposing ideological conformity under the guise of education.
Education Minister Everett Hindley must act decisively to restore integrity and legal compliance to our classrooms.
The Commissioner’s rare Order to Produce Documents — issued after months of stonewalling and only enforced under threat of a summons — forces Regina Public Schools to release records within 30 days.
They best get cracking.
This isn’t a one-off failure; it’s a systemic collapse. A district that considers itself a provincial leader sets a dangerous precedent if left unchecked. Worse, the Government of Saskatchewan risks looking like the errand boys of the NDP if they do nothing.
Saskatchewan’s parents and taxpayers deserve institutions that answer to us, not an unaccountable bureaucracy that schemes to violate our rights in a deliberate effort to avoid scrutiny.
To demand accountability and urge Minister Hindley to disband Regina Public Schools, please leave a comment below and I'll be delighted to pass it on.
Transparency isn’t negotiable — and neither is the future of Saskatchewan's children.
Lise Merle is a parents rights advocate and lives in Saskatchewan.