Government of Alberta to intervene on legal challenge of Saskatchewan's parental rights bill

Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery said the province will file an application to bar the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench from reviewing the constitutionality of the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act. 'This case has the potential to impact parental rights across Canada,' he said.

  • By Alex Dhaliwal
  • April 12, 2024
  • News
Government of Alberta to intervene on legal challenge of Saskatchewan's parental rights bill
The Canadian Press / Spencer Colby and The Canadian Press / Liam Richards
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Alberta and Saskatchewan are joining forces to defend their parental consent policies for minors under 16.

On Tuesday, Ministers of Justice Mickey Amery and Bronwyn Eyre released a joint statement to reveal Alberta’s intervention at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

“Saskatchewan and Alberta agree that the key figures in children’s lives are their parents, and our provinces are both committed to supporting families and children so that they can work through unique needs together,” said Amery and Eyre.

Bill 137, the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act, mandates that children under 16 years of age cannot change their name, use different pronouns, or affirm their 'gender identity' without parental consent. It also bans third-party sex education organizations from classrooms, such as Planned Parenthood.

“Notifying parents and requiring their consent before a child’s name or pronouns can be changed in schools, and before classroom discussions about gender identity and other sensitive subjects occur, ensures that the parent-child relationship is respected and paramount,” reads the joint statement.

In August 2023, a month before the bill passed, the University of Regina Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity (UR Pride) filed a lawsuit against Saskatchewan’s policy, formerly known as, “Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns by Students.” 

UR Pride claimed it would violate children’s right to life, liberty and security of the person (Charter section 7) and children’s right to equality (Charter section 15) in its initial application to provincial court.

Last September 28, the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench granted UR Pride an injunction to suspend Bill 137 until a court hearing takes place. 

The province passed the Parents' Bill of Rights the following month by invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Its use permits provinces to override some human rights for five-year periods.

“The notwithstanding clause is part of the Constitution of Canada and allows federal and provincial governments to enact legislation that operates notwithstanding certain provisions of the Charter,” reads a government statement at the time.

Alberta’s intervention follows a subsequent court decision to permit a constitutional challenge of parental rights in Saskatchewan.

On January 10 and 11, the court heard competing arguments from the LGBTQ lobby and the province on how the case would proceed.

UR Pride would update its legal challenge to claim a constitutional dispute under section 12 of the Charter. The province unsuccessfully challenged the argument as moot.

On February 16, Justice Michael Megaw ruled the applicant UR Pride should be allowed to make the constitutional challenge. 

“I do this without prejudice to the Government of Saskatchewan’s ability to raise this issue again should the circumstances dictate,” he wrote in the decision.

Megaw postponed decisions on mootness and jurisdiction to a later stage.

On Tuesday, Amery said Alberta would file an application on Section 33 of the Charter to bar the Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench from reviewing the constitutionality of the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act.

“This case has the potential to impact not only parental rights across Canada, but also the application of the Parliamentary Supremacy Clause, which has been an integral piece of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Constitution of Canada since 1982,” reads the joint statement.

"This is really an issue of parliamentary sovereignty," said Eyre. "There is a very important constitutional issue at play here about whether the notwithstanding clause is the final word,” she added. 

“I think that certainly Alberta is interested now in pursuing constitutionally at the Court of Appeal."

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice has also written to other provinces for support without response as of writing.

Alberta Saskatchewan Canada Gender Social Justice Warriors LGBT news Scott Moe Danielle Smith Stop Classroom Grooming parental rights
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