Saskatchewan Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health Tim McLeod was in the hot seat at Friday’s medical association conference when delegates began asking questions about the province’s pronoun policy.

The policy, passed by the use of the notwithstanding clause, prevents school authorities from using the preferred names or pronouns of students under the age of 16 without parental consent.

On Friday, delegates and members of Saskatchewan’s medical community turned the minister’s attention to the mental health crisis predicted to escalate as a result of the bill.

Delegate Dr. Anna Redekop, who offers gender-affirming care in Meadow Lake, said that while the topic seems fitting for an education conference, it has a place in health as well.

“This isn’t something that just affects the education system,” Redekop said. “It also affects mental health significantly and even physical health.”

She noted that mental health is generally worse in the queer community.

“There are higher rates of suicide, especially in youth without supports.”

Reddekop asked the province what it is doing to address the effects of the pronoun policy on youth mental health. Her question was answered by cheers from the audience.

McLeod claimed that transphobia in Saskatchewan is no more acceptable than racism.

“The policy is an inclusive policy. It’s not transphobic. It is intended to provide assistance and support to families to ensure that the individuals that you are talking about who are at risk because of low levels of support with their parents, the parental bill of rights ensures that the school system is providing supports that are necessary for those children who may be at high risk.”

He said that the province will be expanding the rapid access counselling to 13 communities with the goal of reaching 24 communities where adults’ rapid access counselling is already being offered.

The mental health capacity building will be expanded to 15 schools by the end of the current year and the remainder of divisions in the future.

“The intent is to involve parents and make sure that if there is a relationship there, there is peace there that needs to be built up, that it has the appropriate supports for children to remain safe and that the family unit is protected,” McLeod said.

Several questions later, Moose Jaw family physician Dr. Karissa Brabant called McLeod’s answer unacceptable.

“The parental rights bill is transphobic,” she said. “It is requiring (youth) to come out to their parents before any other system and this is not safe.”

Brabant noted there are many trans youths living in unsupportive home environments.

“This is what is forcing transgender youth to live in the closet,” Brabant said.

She claimed the government knew before enacting the bill that the policy jeopardizes human rights.

“This bill was deemed to be non-constitutional and was advised to be stayed by the Court of King’s Bench and the notwithstanding clause was used to put this bill through legislation, meaning the government acknowledges and admits fully that this bill jeopardizes human rights of our youth in our province.”

She told the minister that he does not have support from the gender-affirming care physicians in the province.

McLeod gave no response to her comments other than opening the door for a conversation at a different time.

“Thanks for your comments. Perhaps when we return to Moose Jaw, I’m more than happy to sit down and we can have a more detailed conversation about this, but I thank you for raising it today,” McLeod said.

Source : Global News

The post Saskatchewan Minister Drilled Over Pronoun Policy at Saskatoon Medical Conference appeared first on Policy Print.

Details included in court proceedings Tuesday have revealed that Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education developed its pronoun consent policy over the span of nine days before it was announced in August.

The timeframe was spoken of during submissions from both applicant and respondent counsel during an injunction hearing on Tuesday, sourced from an affidavit of assistant deputy minister Michael Walter submitted by the provincial government.

The injunction has been requested by UR Pride Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, as part of an originating application filed against the province challenging the constitutionality of the policy.

UR Pride counsel Adam Goldenberg raised the detail first, stating the policy “went from zero to a final version in nine days in August,” according to Walter’s statement.

He argued that this detail is relevant to UR Pride’s stance that proper consultation during development was not done, meaning the policy does not serve the public good.

“Experts could not have been consulted, there was not time,” he told sitting justice Michael Megaw.

The government’s counsel Mitch McAdam countered that the expediency of development is not indicative of the policy’s integrity.

“The fact this policy was put together quickly does not do away with the presumption of public interest in any way,” he said.

Premier Scott Moe also responded Wednesday morning, calling the claim of a nine-day timeline “not correct.”

“This is a policy that’s been discussed at the elected level of government for some period of time,” he said.

“Most certainly, there’s broad support for this policy across Saskatchewan. That’s why the government is ultimately committed to ensuring its implementation today and into the future.”

Former and current ministers of education Dustin Duncan and Jeremy Cockrill have previously been asked who was consulted when creating the policy, but have not provided any specifics to date.

Provincial children and youth advocate Lisa Broda expressed similar concerns over consultation to those raised by UR Pride in her report released last week examining the policy.

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association has also made clear that school divisions were not consulted.

Leader-Post asked the Ministry of Education if further context of that timeline could be provided, but the ministry was not able to do so by the time of publication Wednesday.

Those in court Tuesday also heard that according to Walter, the Minister of Education’s office received 18 letters between June and the policy’s release in August expressing concern about pronoun usage in schools.

Eleven letter writers did not identify themselves as parents of school age children. Most were speaking to New Brunswick’s recently announced Policy 713, not to Saskatchewan.

Goldenberg said the province declined to attach those letters in the affidavit or provide them to his legal team.

Government officials have not publicly provided a clear number on how many letters or emails were received from concerned parents about this topic, stating only there have been a number in contact with MLAs on the issue.

In an emailed response provided Wednesday, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General advised the Walter affidavit is “only one snapshot” of evidence to be advanced by government in this case, which continues in November.

Moe also reiterated previous statements on Wednesday that he remains open to using the notwithstanding clause to counter a successful injunction order.

“We’ll use the tools to ensure the policy ultimately is in place,” he said.

Source : Regina Leader Post

The post Sask. Ministry Developed Pronoun Policy in Nine Days, Hears Court appeared first on Policy Print.