Several sexual minority organizations sent a letter to Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan government on Tuesday over new school guidelines..The organizations are asking the Ministry of Education to delay the new parental rights and sexual education policies introduced last week by Moe’s government..One of the three new policies would make students who identify as a different gender than when they were born to have parental permission under the age of 16..The organizations said if the government does not pause and review the new policies, they will take legal action on Wednesday..On Tuesday, the University of Regina Pride (UR Pride) Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, a non-profit organization at the University of Regina, sent a letter to the Saskatchewan government. .Egale Canada and McCarthy Tétrault LLP lawyers will represent UR Pride in court..The letter was sent to the new Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill. .It says the new rule about making students who identify as a different gender use their birth names will “cause devastating and irreparable harm to gender-diverse students under 16 years old who do not feel safe coming out at home.”.On Wednesday, the organizations will ask for an "injunction," which is a court order that would make the government wait before starting the new policies, at the Court of King's Bench. .This gives the court time to decide if the new policies are legal..Egale Canada stated that the new policies violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is intended to protect people's rights..“Specifically, charter seven and charter 15,” said Bennet Jensen, legal director with Egale Canada..“It seems that this policy was implemented without any consultation and without any evidence this would benefit the students involved. We believe this policy singles out gender diverse students and discriminates against them and can cause harm to them when implemented.”.Jensen pointed out they have a good chance of winning because courts have supported students who identify as a different gender in previous cases. .Jensen believes it's very likely the court will say the new rule violates the Constitution..During a press conference on Tuesday, Moe said the government plans to continue the new policies as 86% of Saskatchewanians support parental involvement in the education system. He was not concerned about possible lawsuits. .“We've identified here in this province, there's a vast majority, 86% of Saskatchewan support the direction,” said Moe. .“There is 10%, including the opposition party, that actually want to exclude parental rights from what is happening in our schools. So we most certainly really support the ability for parents to be involved in an increasing level in their child's education.”.Nadine Ness, of Unified Grassroots, posted on Tuesday evening another lawsuit will be filed by parents who support the new parental rights and sexual education policies..“UR Pride Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity is suing the Sask Government and trying to get an injunction in place over the new gender and pronoun policy,” tweeted Ness. .“We, as in Unified Grassroots, are going to be going to bat against this injunction. Parents need to be involved on all matters when it comes to their kids. If you have a story to support these new changes made by Sask Government please reach out to our non-profit organization at http://unifiedgrassroots.com.”.“We are working with a legal team who will be representing parents and parental rights throughout.”
