The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is threatening legal action over changes to Policy 713.
Controversial revisions to the policy, which protects LGBTQ+ students in schools, were announced Thursday.
“Policy 713 should have been strengthened – instead it has been weakened,” Harini Sivalingam, lawyer and director of the Equality Program at CCLA, said in a statement.
Sivalingam said the changes violate the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ youth and “will make it more dangerous to be a trans or non-binary student in New Brunswick.”
With the changes, trans and non-binary students under 16 now require parental consent to officially change their preferred name and pronouns in school.
The original policy allowed for a path forward if the school was unable to get parental consent, but that will no longer be the case.
Education Minister Bill Hogan said school professionals, such as social workers or psychologists, will work with students to help them speak with their parents — if and when they are ready to do so.
Hogan insisted that school staff will not be outing LGBTQ+ students to their parents, but some opponents say the changes will force youth to out themselves so they can be their true selves in school.
“We have seen all too often what happens when students are outed at home,” said Sivalingam. “Some unsupportive families have kicked their kids out of the house or resorted to physical violence.”
Sivalingam said the Higgs government’s decision “sets a dangerous precedent and that could instigate similar attempts to harm the rights of children across the country.”
The association is urging the provincial government to rescind the changes, which take effect on July 1, and consult with rights organizations.
“The CCLA will support and take the legal measures necessary in New Brunswick to protect the rights of children,” said Sivalingam.
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