Sask. NDP calls on province to reveal private lawyer spending on pronoun case
The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to reveal an estimate of how much public money the province has paid to private lawyers for its pronoun court case.
During question period on Wednesday, NDP MLA and Human Rights Critic Meara Conway asked Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre to reveal that number.
“When it comes to the public dollars that are flowing out to a private law firm on that case, the Sask. Party is refusing to disclose the amount,” Conway said.
Conway said NDP MLA and Justice Critic Nicole Sarauer asked Eyre the same question at committee on Tuesday, where Conway said Eyre refused to answer.
“I’ll ask again, how much public money is being spent on private lawyers fighting this pronoun case in the courts?” Conway asked.
Eyre said the reason she can’t say anything is because of attorney-client privilege.
“It’s our position that parental rights are worth defending,” Eyre said in response on Wednesday. “We are defendants in active legislation, Mr. Speaker, solicitor client privilege goes to the heart of any legal case and ensures that strategical and tactical choices to defend that case remain confidential.”
“The retainer is a part of that and subject to that privilege, I don’t intend to violate that.”
Conway said she thinks people deserve basic answers and accountability for public dollars being spent, citing a past carbon tax case.
“When the Sask. Party hired private lawyers to fight the carbon tax case, it cost taxpayers half a million dollars, and the Justice Minister at the time, to his credit, was crystal clear about what costs were being downloaded to taxpayers,” she said. “Things have sure changed with the Sask. Party.”
Eyre said there is an important distinction between that case and the current pronoun policy case.
“In that case, we brought forward the reference,” she said. “In this case, we are defendants in active litigation in a case that was brought against us.”
“Once that case is resolved then all of that information will, of course, come out as it does every year, every single year to private firms.”
Speaking to reporters following question period, Conway said they are interested in knowing the numbers now for several reasons.
“This is a case of considerable public interest,” she said. “I think that a lot of people think this in an example of the government’s misplaced priorities.”
“I think there’s a lot of interest in knowing what this is going to cost, particularly given this is a questionable priority to begin with.”
Conway said she thinks using attorney-client privilege is a deflection on Eyre’s part.
“Even if it applies, the client can waive it,” she said. “There’s examples of previous justice ministers doing just that.”
“They’ve done it before, they can do it again.”
The Parents’ Bill of Rights, initially known as the pronoun policy, requires parental consent when children under 16 want to go by a different name or pronoun at school.
The policy was first introduced on Aug. 22, 2023 and was soon legally challenged by UR Pride, an organization at the University of Regina which offers support for 2SLGBTQ+ students.
The provincial government recalled the legislature early to enact the notwithstanding clause, which was meant to shield the policy from the court order.
However, in February, an appeal court judge said UR Pride’s case could proceed anyway, as the judge could decide if the law violated the Charter rights of children.
The Saskatchewan government turned to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal to intervene with the appeal court’s decision and are awaiting the court’s schedule.
--With files from David Prisciak and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.