As proceedings got underway Friday morning in the New Brunswick legislature, it appeared that the protest of eight government MLAs over changes to school LGBTQ2 inclusion policy may have come to an end.
Eight government MLAs, including six cabinet ministers, skipped question period and routine business on Thursday in protest of a lack of “process and transparency” after education minister Bill Hogan announced changes to Policy 713, which sets out minimum standards to create an inclusive environment for queer students in the school system.
The new policy requires parental consent for teachers to refer to students by their preferred name or pronouns, which has been slammed by a number of LGBTQ2 organizations and opposition parties.
On Friday morning, seven of the eight were in their seats and Service N.B. minister Jill Green even gave an impassioned speech in favour of the government’s overhaul of health care governance.
“This is a good bill,” she said. “It’s moving our health care system forward, Mr. Speaker, and we need to do that now.”
But Green leader David Coon said he expected it was too soon to say the rebellion had been quashed.
“Oh no, I think the revolt is there and simmering,” he told reporters.
Moments later he was proven right when Fundy-the Isles-Saint John West MLA Andrea Anderson Mason rose to speak on changes to the governance model of the education system. She slammed the bill, calling it rushed and saying that it was almost the opposite of proposed changes she had been briefed on following a lengthy consultation process under former education minister Dominic Cardy.
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“I was surprised to learn that this was not the direction that I had been briefed on a year and half before,” she said.
“In fact, it was completely the opposite direction.”
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LGBTQ groups in N.B. upset with school policy changes -
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New Brunswick Teachers’ Association not consulted in government’s review of LGBTQ inclusion policy -
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New Brunswick Women’s Council says Policy 713 review ‘based in misinformation’ -
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N.B. mom says she feels ‘used’ after being asked to help rewrite Policy 713
The new Education Act would, among other things, remove decision-making powers from district education councils in the Anglophone school system. The Franchophone system will remain more or less the same in order to respect charter rights for minority linguistic communities.
Anderson Mason said she she intends to support an opposition motion to send the bill to the law amendments committee for further study and questioned premier Blaine Higgs’s commitment to parental rights, which has been used to justify the changes to Policy 713.
“I find it really ironic that we are standing here today and have had so many conversations about the importance of the role of parents in the lives of their children in the education system and this new legislation has the effect of almost fully eliminating the input of local communities on their children’s education,” she said.
Higgs called Anderson Mason’s claim that the changes will disenfranchise parents “a reach” and suggested an ulterior motive to her criticisms, but wouldn’t say what that motive is when asked by reporters.
“It’s clear that that member has another agenda and she’s continued to play that out,” he said.
Higgs ended a scrum with reporters after just six minutes, refusing to answer questions about if he had tried to smooth things over with his eight caucus colleagues.
“I don’t think this is going to be fruitful discussion, have a good weekend,” he said before walking away.
The Tory backbencher’s passionate criticisms of a government bill caught the eye of Liberal leader Susan Holt, who said the premier is losing the support of his caucus.
“It’s really unusual for a member of government to get up a deliver a speech against their government’s bill; it’s not typical for that to happen,” she said.
“So it’s a sign there continues to be dissent.”
The eight government MLAs who skipped Thursday’s routine proceedings and signed the letter voicing concerns over the Policy 713 review were Jeff Carr, Daniel Allain, Jill Green, Trevor Holder, Dorothy Shephard, Arlene Dunn, Ross Whetmore and Anderson Mason.
All eight, with the exception of Holder, had publicly expressed concerns over the review of the policy over the last few weeks.
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