Parental consent should be required for student pronoun changes: Manitoba PCs

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative interim leader Wayne Ewasko reaffirmed his party’s stance on the need for parental consent when it comes to their child’s name or pronoun changes Tuesday.

His comments have local advocates calling it a dangerous step in the wrong direction when it comes to 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Manitoba.

“How much of a concern is it? it’s deadly serious as far as a concern,” said Ashley Smith, the director of advocacy at Rainbow Resource Centre.
“An attack against 2SLGBTQ+ policies in school is actually an attack on 2SLGBTQ+ people and when it is in schools it’s an attack on youths.”

Last year Saskatchewan and New Brunswick brought in rules last year requiring consent for students 16 and under to change their names or pronouns at school.

Smith says his fear is that Ewasko’s comments are just the precursor to the tactics he believes will be used by the Conservatives in the next Federal election.

“When that comes from the top, when it’s the federal government that’s using this cavalier language in federal policies we are going to see everything shift as far as 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Canada,” said Smith.

Premier Wab Kinew also responded to the PC’s comments saying, “More divisive rhetoric from the PC’s under their new interim leader, same message as Heather Stefanson had in the election campaign, I think Manitobans rejected that type of division.”