Manitoba Education sought review amid New Brunswick’s push for pronoun policy By: Katrina Clarke Posted: 4:25 PM CST Friday, Jan. 26, 2024 Last Modified: 10:13 AM CST Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 Updates

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Months before the Progressive Conservatives made “parental rights” a key plank in their re-election campaign last fall, the department of education was keeping tabs on the issue in New Brunswick and recommending a review of Manitoba’s own policies.

Emails obtained by the Free Press through a freedom of information request show in June 2023, three months before the writ dropped, Manitoba’s deputy minister of education directed staff to conduct a jurisdictional scan of parents’ “right to know” in other provinces.

It’s unclear if anyone at the political level was involved in the request, but political observers say the Tories may have been seeking justification to eventually raise “parental rights” — something critics call a dog whistle for policies that harm LGBTTQ+ students — on the campaign trail.

At the time, New Brunswick’s PC government was setting off a firestorm by requiring teachers to obtain parents’ permission before using the preferred name and pronouns of students under 16.

Heated debate and protests followed, with critics saying the policies would harm trans and gender diverse students and proponents arguing parents deserve to know if their child uses different names and pronouns in school.

Saskatchewan has since established similar policies.

The Manitoba deputy minister’s directive was for the following: “1) Note the current policy discussions happening in other provinces, such (as) New Brunswick, such as the parents’ right to know, etc. 2) Summarize our policies related to transgendered and gender diverse students. 3) Confirm the need for a review of the Supporting (Transgender) and Gender Diverse Students Guidelines and if a review is needed, the proposed approach/timeline.”

Staff then put together a briefing note that recommended updating the guideline document “to reflect current inclusive language and enhance clarity to align with the vision that all Manitoba students succeed, no matter where they live, their background or their individual circumstances.”

One of the “key messages” was to recognize “embracing gender diversity and recognizing each person’s unique identity” as integral in fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all students.

Parental rights briefing note

 

If politicians were looking for an excuse to follow New Brunswick’s lead, civil servants weren’t providing it, one education professor says.

“It’s really clear whoever did this briefing note was like, ‘I am not going to give you any space in this briefing note to justify a pronoun policy,’” said Marc Kuly, an assistant professor of education at the University of Winnipeg. “It’s actually a bit of a masterclass in how to be political without being political.”

Either way, the Tories forged ahead.

In August, then-premier Heather Stefanson announced plans to expand parental rights by updating Manitoba’s Public Schools Act.

The legislation needed modernizing, she said, with proposed new additions including the right to be informed about curriculum and the right to have advance notice before presentations from outside groups.

At the time, NDP Leader (now Premier) Wab Kinew dismissed the announcement as a “dog whistle” and a “wedge issue.” Teachers were quick to point out parents already have strong rights and they inform families about curriculum and classroom matters.

However, the PCs doubled down. During their campaign, the Tories put up billboards reading: “Parents know best” and “We’re fighting for parental rights.”

It remains unclear what the PCs meant by “parental rights.”

“It’s really clear whoever did this briefing note was like, ‘I am not going to give you any space in this briefing note to justify a pronoun policy’”–Marc Kuly

When pressed on the campaign trail, Stefanson acknowledged she believes parents should be informed about changes to their child’s gender identity at school. Beyond that, the PCs said details would be revealed post-election, following consultations.

The documents obtained by the Free Press show the province was solidifying messaging on the pronoun issue in August, right after the PCs unveiled their Public Schools Act revamp plan.

A heavily redacted email chain between the province’s media communications team and civil servants, including the deputy minister, shows a “recommended response” to an unspecified request read as follows: “Manitoba does not have a policy on pronoun use in schools.”

While technically true — Manitoba only has “guidelines” — former civil servant John Finch wonders if the province was preparing to introduce new policies, suggesting an absence of existing ones.

“They would have been formulating how far they were willing to take the public discussion as part of the election promises,” Finch said.

Finch said the existing guidelines, found in the “Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse Students in Manitoba Schools” document from 2017, which he helped launch when he was in the civil service, upholds the rights of LGBTTQ+ students.

The 74-page document encourages schools to communicate with parents about issues of gender identity, but states: “All students have the right to choose the name by which they wish to be addressed.” It notes students must give consent before a school can disclose their trans or gender diverse identity to parents.

“All students have the right to choose the name by which they wish to be addressed”–2017 document

Finch said it was initiated by the former NDP government but came into effect under the Pallister PC government.

That document will remain untouched, NDP Minister of Education Nello Altomare confirmed in an interview with the Free Press.

His message to LGBTTQ+ students: you will be supported.

“We take that job very seriously,” he said.

Still, Altomare thinks the PCs — particularly interim leader Wayne Ewasko, former minister of education and a former guidance counsellor — need to answer for their “divisive rhetoric.”

Ewasko was not made available for an interview. Asked for the party’s current position on parental rights and pronoun policies, Ewasko said in a statement: “As a party, we believe parents have a strong role to play in their children’s education.”

That response demonstrates the party is shifting away from the campaign tone, no longer “excessively conservative and rigid on social issues,” said Paul Thomas, a professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

“I do think that we are going to see this come up again”–Noreen Mian

Thomas suspects the party has learned conservative social policies such as “parental rights” don’t resonate in a moderate province like Manitoba, he said.

Advocates in the LGBTTQ+ community aren’t convinced.

While they are relieved the NDP government has no interest in pursuing similar policies, they are keeping a close eye on other levels of government and lobby groups. Specifically: school boards entertaining book bans and transphobic rhetoric, religious groups advocating for trans rights to be repealed and the upcoming federal election.

“I do think that we are going to see this come up again,” said Noreen Mian, executive director of the Rainbow Resource Centre, a Manitoba non-profit supporting the LGBTTQ+ community.

In the meantime, Mian remains “horrified” by the PCs’ re-election campaign. She views their stated policies as an attack on trans children, something that sent a chill throughout the LGBTTQ+ community.

“They need to be held accountable for the hate that they unleashed.”

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca