'The premier owes my children an apology': MLA Jared Clarke criticizes Sask. Party's stance on transgender youth

NDP MLA Jared Clarke took his opportunity to put Premier Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party on blast Tuesday – criticizing the party’s campaign promise of a change room policy while explaining the effect it had on his own children.

On Oct. 16, the same day as the Saskatchewan Leaders’ Debate, an online publication published a story outlining concerns surrounding two 12-year-old trans-students using a girls’ change room at a school in southeastern Saskatchewan.

The story began a sequence of events on social media that ended with the two students being identified as Clarke’s children.

On Oct. 17 Moe announced that his party would establish a policy restricting students’ use of change rooms to their sex assigned at birth as its “first order of business” if re-elected.

Speaking for more than 10 minutes during the Throne Speech Debate on Tuesday, Clarke called out Moe’s stance on transgender youth and his decision to make the policy announcement – which had not been included in the Saskatchewan Party’s election platform prior to Oct. 17.

“The premier put a target on the backs of my two 12-year-old kids. He held a press conference to stoke fear and outrage about two kids at an elementary school while my children’s picture was circulating on social media identifying them, while unimaginable hate was raging down on my family,” he said.

“What do you think would be going through a 12-year-old's mind when they hear the premier of their province [is] targeting them?”

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The proposed change room policy was then dropped as Moe’s “first order of business” following the election – after the Sask. Party secured a 34-seat majority in the legislature.

Speaking to reporters after the revelation, Moe claimed he had “misspoke” during the initial announcement on Oct. 17 and that any policy of that nature would be done in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions.

During his comments, Clarke recalled the government’s push to pass Bill 137 or the Parents’ Bill of Rights late last year – which requires parental consent before students change their name or preferred pronouns at school.

“I have sat as an MLA since October of last year, and this is the second time that this premier in one year has decided to attack trans kids. Some of the most vulnerable people in our province, all presumably because he thought it was a good political strategy,” Clarke recalled.

“The premier owes my children an apology, he owes all transgender kids in this province, especially transgender people in this province, especially kids, an apology for how he has made them feel so unsafe over the last year.”

Clarke reflected on his family’s journey following his children coming out as transgender.

"As a parent of a transgender child, you are presented with a stark choice to outright reject the feelings and words of your child when they tell you who they are, or to choose to embrace your child and love them with all your heart. My wife and I decided to love our kids with all our hearts," he said, adding further that he and his wife learned a lot while researching the topic after their children came out.

In his remarks, Clarke also cited the added risks faced by transgender children, including increased homelessness and suicide rates.

A 2019 study from the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth found that transgender adolescents were 7.6 times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers.

Clarke ended off by praising his children’s strength to “live as their authentic selves."

"I cannot tell you how proud I am of my children. They are kind, smart, adventurous, loving," he said.

“Transgender kids are not scary. Transgender people are not scary. They are not people that we should be afraid of. They are people who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and love."

In a response to CTV News, a government spokesperson outlined that the Minister of Education and Premier Moe commented on the matter in response to questions from the media at the time.

“At no point did they identify any students. The Premier and his campaign consistently stated that ‘the identity of individual minors should never be part of any political debate,’” the statement read.

The government vowed to work with school divisions to ensure that "there is a policy in place that supports each and every student."