Appeal hearing between UR Pride and Sask. gov't set to begin Monday

Arguments surrounding Saskatchewan’s Parents’ Bill of Rights are set to move forward, with an appeal hearing scheduled to begin Monday.

UR Pride and the Government of Saskatchewan have been at odds for over a year after the province introduced its pronoun policy.

The policy, which requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school, was first introduced by the province on Aug. 22, 2023.

It was legally challenged by UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity soon after, claiming that it is unconstitutional.

A UR Pride application argued that the policy violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees security and Section 15, which is related to equality rights.

The organization’s legal challenge was launched alongside Egale Canada. A Court of King’s Bench granted an injunction of the policy to UR Pride in September.

To prevent the policy from being struck down, the provincial government invoked the notwithstanding clause to enshrine the policy into law as the Parents’ Bill of Rights in October of 2023.

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UR Pride and Egale continued to fight against the legislation, which was ultimately halted due to an impending appeal from the province.

In February of 2024, a King’s Bench judge said the Charter case could proceed anyway and said that a judge could still hear the case to decide if the law violated the Charter rights of children.

The Saskatchewan government then turned to the Court of Appeal to intervene. Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre said the Court of Appeal agreed to hear the court’s case and will wait for the court’s schedule.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard on both Monday and Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in Regina, beginning at 9:50 a.m.

--With files from Josh Lynn and David Prisciak