REGINA — The provincial government is facing further calls to repeal its three-year-old Bill 137, the Parents' Bill of Rights Act.
The legislation is perhaps best known for requiring parental notification for name and gender changes for students under 16 in schools across Saskatchewan.
That bill has been met with controversy, opposition and ongoing court challenges going back to even before its passage in 2023. The latest opposition comes from the Saskatchewan Coalition to Repeal Bill 137, which said this week that it delivered more than 600 letters from students, teachers and parents urging Regina Public School Division to reject compliance with Bill 137.
When asked about it in a scrum with reporters Wednesday in Regina, Premier Scott Moe did not appear bothered by the opposition expressed.
"I mean, people can write letters," Moe said.
He said the Parents' Bill of Rights was put forward to "ensure that parents are involved with their children's education and the decisions that are being made by their children in our educational schools across the province."
"They are students, students in those schools, but they are also children. Parents and parents most certainly should be involved with their children — six, seven, eight, nine years old — in the decisions they're making, whether it be field trips, whether it be classes and studies that they're taking, or yes, whether it be choosing to change their name or gender. Parents should be involved in all of those decisions and we firmly believe that to be the case."
Moe added that the Parents' Bill of Rights is "much larger than that one issue that many will focus in on," saying it was about bringing parents closer to the classroom.
As for calls for Regina Public Schools to reject compliance with Bill 137, Moe said his government believes the bill is "certainly the direction that the vast majority of parents want not only this government but school divisions to adhere to, and it is the law in the province so it will be followed."
"Listen, there's opposing views on a number of initiatives that the government undertakes," Moe acknowledged. "We pass 30 or 40 bills each and every year and there's opposition from certain individuals on likely each and every one of those bills, largely in particular those that are more public or public facing in the impact that they have. At the end of the day, this bill and many others are about including people and in particular parents in decisions that their children are making. These are children, they're not little adults, and they are children that we want their parents to be involved in and are going to take every step to ensure and encourage that they are involved in their children's life. That's the reasoning behind the bill and it will continue to move forward."
NDP blasts Bill 137
The opposition New Democrats took a different view in speaking to reporters at the legislature Thursday.
At a media conference, Opposition Leader Carla Beck and 2SLGBTQ affairs critic Nathaniel Teed blasted Bill 137 as being divisive, and accused Moe of fostering division.
"We saw a bill that was meant to divide, meant to inflame, and meant to help him politically," Beck said. "He did this for his own self-interest, all while knowing the harm that this bill was going to cause, stripping people of their human rights. This was a bill that was never designed to help, but it was forced through by the Sask Party. And this puts school boards in this province in an incredibly difficult position."
Teed noted that coming up this weekend was the Pride parade in Saskatoon.
"It's such an important event to show that the community cares," said Teed. "And recently, for so many, since the passage of Bill 137, Pride has become a way to protest this Premier and this government's harmful backwards policies. Thousands will march in Saskatoon this weekend, thousands marched in Regina this past week, all in opposition to this harmful policy."
Teed took note that there were 600 people who wrote letters against Bill 137.
"And remember that it was only 14 letters that motivated Moe to bring in this awful legislation through an emergency session and use of the Notwithstanding Clause," he said.
Teed also pledged that the NDP would do away with the bill if they take power.
"I have to say that I am so proud to be a part of this team and stand with Carla Beck. And I cannot wait for us to form government in 2028 and repeal this terrible Bill 137 once and for all," Teed said. "My message to young people out there is this. You are loved. We see you. You do belong. And thank you so much."
