The Saskatchewan government is drawing up a framework that might allow third parties to teach in schools again.Last August, an uproar over sex cards made available by Planned Parenthood to a Grade 9 class in Lumsden led to the organization and all others being banned from schools.On Monday, the province's Ministry of Education issued a statement to CBC that it is reviewing "the policies and procedures for third-party organizations who present on sexual health education in classrooms."The revelation came the same day the Government of Saskatchewan announced $42.6 million over three years ($14.2 million a year) to 34 community-based service organizations and 54 programs across the province that provide supports and services to individuals and their families impacted by interpersonal violence and abuse.In a press release, Premier Scott Moe said the money would ensure “that victims don’t have to face challenges alone."Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre said the funding "makes a difference.""Last year, we ensured that over 1,000 adults and 1,100 children had access to safe accommodation and resources to rebuild their lives. Over 900 people in communities across the province also received counselling and advocacy services, as well as support for housing, employment and education."Funded programs include:Sexual Violence Services;Residential Transition Homes;Enhanced Residential services;Family Violence Intervention programs;Family Intervention Rapid Support Teams (FIRST); andVictim Advocate Case Reviews (VACR).This year, the province is dedicating $31.7 million to interpersonal violence programs and services. This includes $14.2 million in annual funding to community-based partners, $4.6 million in funding through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, annualized funding for second-stage shelters, and additional funding for Victims Services and other supports.The government announced the funding at a media event at a Regina YWCA on Monday. Its CEO Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen welcomed the tax dollars for her organization."Investing in support services and shelters for people who experience interpersonal violence is a vital step in the prevention of continued high rates of interpersonal abuse in our province," Coomber-Bendtsen said."YWCA Regina is pleased to be an on-going partner with the Government of Saskatchewan on these initiatives.”NDP MLA Nicole Sarauer told reporters organizations have a harder time getting their programs to impact children now that they're banned from schools."This is a government who has removed third party educators from schools that were teaching important things like consent education and healthy relationships. These are the things that help prevent sexual assaults, sexual abuse, and intimate partner violence," she said."I was in Prince Albert and I heard from stakeholders about how devastating it was to go into the classroom and to teach this subject and hear from kids who said, 'Wow, I had no idea that is what a relationship is supposed to look like.'"Coomber-Bendtsen said her organization has met with the education minister and the justice minister about the ban. "We felt very strongly that it did impact our ability to address or prevent intimate partner violence in our community," she told CBC. Coomber-Bendtsen said the province has said the framework might not be completed for a full year.Moe was asked how the province could entrust money to organizations it also banned from schools."Parents have had questions about some of the material, not necessarily from the YWCA, that's being made available to their children in our schools without actually involving the parents," he said.The ban has kept the program from schools but presentations have continued to youth groups and corporations.The webpage for the YWCA Upstander training program says, "Toxic Masculinity is dangerous to everyone. It is important to stop it before it hurts you or another person. The best way to stop it is to educate yourself."Images from the training follow below.
