N.B. makes minor ‘clarifications’ to Policy 713 after being told it violated the Charter

New Brunswick’s provincial government is making minor “clarifications” to Policy 713, just over a week after the province’s child and youth advocate found controversial changes to the policy violates the Charter rights of children.

But despite those adjustments, the central elements of the controversial policy are still being maintained.

“I thank the child and youth advocate for his thorough assessment, opinions, and recommendations regarding Policy 713,” Education Minister Bill Hogan said in a release Wednesday.

In June, the province made several revisions to its policy on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, which has since prompted criticism from the LGBTQ+ community, advocacy groups and educators.

One of those changes requires children under 16 to have parental consent before they can officially change their preferred first names or pronouns at school.

Hogan said while the province stands by the changes, “it was clear there are some areas of the policy where further clarity was needed, particularly around some of the definitions used and how students will be supported through major life changes.”

1:48 Education council calling on N.B. government to adopt Policy 713 recommendations

In a recent report, child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock said forcing any non-binary and transgender students to use a name they don’t identify with “is a violation of their protected rights under the Human Rights Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

On Wednesday, the province said it will make changes to “bring clarity to the policy.” School professionals, such as psychologists and social workers, will now be permitted to use the preferred names and pronouns of children under 16.

However, Hogan says the use of names in classrooms will be considered formal and that teachers will not be allowed to use the preferred names and pronouns of kids under 16 without parental consent.

“It’s important for a parent to have involvement in their child’s education,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

The minister said this rule only applies to students whose names are “attached to a different gender than what they’re identified with their parents” — not for students who would prefer a nickname, such as a child wishing to be called Bob instead of Robert.

“Otherwise, what we’re saying is that we’re keeping information from parents, and that’s not the role of the school,” he said.

Hogan insisted that he believes the rule is not discriminatory — though Lamrock noted in his report that to say one is OK and one is not is a violation of the Charter and human rights act.

Hogan did not say if provincial lawyers have examined the policy to ensure it does not violate Charter rights.

“In any act that we bring forward, there’s always the possibility that parts can be challenged,” he said. “It would be not appropriate for me to presuppose what the courts will judge.”

Premier Blaine Higgs has previously defended the changes to the policy, arguing that parents have the right to know whether their children are questioning their gender identity. But Higgs’s government has faced strong backlash, including within his own cabinet and from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Dissenting members of Higgs’ Progressive Conservatives voted with the opposition in mid-June to pass a motion asking Lamrock’s office to review the changes to Policy 713.

— with files from The Canadian Press