New Brunswick Liberals pledge to roll back parental rights

A school principal would develop a ‘plan’ for students roughly 12 years of age and older in consultation with professionals. Only those students with the ‘capacity’ to make that decision would be considered.

A Liberal government in New Brunswick would rollback parental rights should they form government next week. The Liberals are entertaining name and pronoun changes for students as young as grade six without parental consent.

As first reported by the Telegraph Journal, rollbacks would incorporate recommendations by New Brunswick’s child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock in August 2023.

A school principal would develop a “plan” for students roughly 12 years of age and older in consultation with professionals. Only those students with the “capacity” to make that decision would be considered, it said.

“That’s the policy that we’re looking to adopt,” Liberal Leader Susan Holt told the Journal.

“We have heard from some parents who are concerned about the 12-year age so we’re always open to hearing from people,” she said.

The provincial Green Party would also “incorporate the changes” to Policy 713 recommended by Lamrock.

Since July 1, 2023, ‘transgender’ and ‘non-binary’ students under 16 cannot change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent. Their legal name would be present on report cards and official documentation.

Premier Blaine Higgs told Rebel News that “parental rights” as a ballot issue came as a “surprise” to the party leader. “Shockingly so,” he said, noting Policy 713 garnered national attention.

Education Minister Bill Hogan earlier said the highly-anticipated education reform balanced parental rights while maintaining a safe learning environment for sexual minorities.

“We're teaching kids to develop and grow, and they need to be making decisions as they get older and they get wiser,” Higgs told reporters the previous summer. 

He gave the example that drag queen story hours are not appropriate for children. “Are we trying to teach tolerance and acceptance, or are we trying to teach promotion?”

Lamrock’s proposed guidelines were in response to a Liberal motion calling for his office to review changes the Progressive Conservative government had started to make in June 2023 to the gender-identity policy for public school students.

In his review, Lamrock, a lawyer and former education minister, opined the revised policy could pose a Charter Rights violation. 

In September 2023, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) sued the Province of New Brunswick over the revised policy. None of the allegations have been tested before the courts.

Holt, who holds opposing views on parental rights to Higgs, called Policy 713 “very misconstrued.”

“It’s the teacher’s job to find a path forward with professionals, with that child in their best interest that supports the conversation and ensures a safe environment at home,” she told reporters on September 16.

Premier Higgs earlier frowned at the idea of educators “keeping secrets” from parents. “For it purposefully to be hidden from the parents, that's a problem,” he said. “To suggest that it's OK that parents don't need to know — just stop and think about that question for a moment.”

Higgs recently told media he is “concerned” that parental involvement in a child’s life has been equated to a “far-right” position. 

“Our society was founded on strong families and parents being engaged,” he told Rebel News in January.

When asked if this was a “winning issue” among voters, the premier said: “Certainly, the response I’ve had from parents was to stand up for parents.” 

A SecondStreet.org-sanctioned poll said 57% of Canadians believe schools should inform parents if their child discusses changing their gender pronouns or transitioning. Only 18% disagreed with this statement, while 25% didn't know.

Nationwide, most schools are not legally required to inform parents about gender transitions.

“In any society, parents come in many diverse situations, but they all care about the kids they’re raising,” Higgs said. “I think it’s a fundamental issue … parents are the continuity that children have throughout their life.”

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

COMMENTS

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  • Robin Naismith
    commented 2024-10-17 03:21:10 -0400
    Are you friggin’ kidding me ? Do N.B. liberals really think this type of thing will go over with parents & their kids,I think not. Parents will fight tooth & nail for there kids and they won’t let the government to pull this kinda Shady crap and if it possibly comes down to a War between liberals & parents,I would honestly put my money on the parents because they will not back down to N.B. liberal Scumbags
  • Des Zacharias
    commented 2024-10-16 21:59:42 -0400
    These3 peop[le are TRULY F’d in the head