As the Legislature is called into session to pass the Sask Party government’s “gender and pronoun policy”, two groups of protesters set up shop across the parking lot from the house.
Security and police erected road blocks and fences to keep people from getting close to the building, but that didn’t deter the protesters who wanted to have their voices heard.
The vast majority of the protesters were firmly in opposition to the government’s decision which the courts said seemed to be a rushed proccess.
The government says its MLAs have been approached by people who would like a policy like this to be put in place, but there were no public hearings, or any warning before the government announced the policy.
The Court of King’s Bench ordered a pause on the policy, which the government dismissed as “judicial over-reach”, and premier Scott Moe announced he would bring in legislation, and the use of the charter’s “not withstanding clause” which will prevent any court challenges of the policy for a period of five years.
Among the protesters was Ailsa Watkins. She drove from Saskatoon to Regina to be part of the protest.
“Its a human rights violation pure and simple” Watkins said, as she went to take her place among the protesters. “First of all they are passing a piece of legislation that will limit the rights of trans students, who are a minority, of a minority, of a minority”
There was a group of people there to support the government’s decision, but their chanting was quickly drowned out by the much larger crowd. There were some “spirited conversations” between the two groups, but police managed to keep tempers from running too hot.
