Saskatchewan’s Bill 137 - Limiting the Inclusionary Practices of Gay-Straight Alliances for Gender Non-Conforming Students

Katryne Dubeau is a PhD student at the College of Education, focusing on queering mathematics education. She is also working as a K-12 mathematics and science teacher and has previously led a Gay-Straight Alliance program in Saskatchewan.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2024 Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation Bulletin.

Numerous protests in Canada for “parental rights” have targeted inclusive education (Mason & Hamilton, 2023). This “parental rights” movement has been steadily growing as the inclusionary practices for 2SLGBTQ+ students, such as teaching students about the differences between sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality in age-appropriate ways (CTV News, 2023), have increased in schools. These protests began when New Brunswick’s government implemented Bill 713 – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in 2020. Bill 713 states explicitly that the preferred name of transgender and non-binary students cannot be used without parental consent (Government of New Brunswick, 2023). Bill 713 has been updated twice and now includes that the preferred names of transgender and non-binary students can be used without prior parental consent if a student speaks to “appropriate professionals” about a plan to discuss with their parents or talks to a school professional one on one for support. While parts of Bill 713 are set to enhance inclusivity in schools, implementing this Bill has emboldened anti-2SLGBTQ+ groups like Action4Canada (Mason & Hamilton, 2023).

Saskatchewan’s response to New Brunswick’s Bill 713 has been to implement their own anti-trans legislation, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Bill 137 – The Education (Parents’ Bill of Rights) Amendment Act, 2023. Bill 137 requires students under 16 to gain parental permission to use their preferred names and pronouns in school and does not include Bill 713’s exception for using these preferred names without parental consent. The Minister of Education has stated that the policy looks for “when children are looking to change their name associated with a change in their gender” (Hunter, 2023, para 11). In other words, Bill 137 is directly aimed at gender non-conforming students. In a situation where parental approval has not been gained, the school staff must continue to use their deadname, regardless of their student’s preferences or gender identity. A deadname refers to using the name a transgender or non-binary person used before transitioning, usually their birth name. Deadnaming applies in all situations at a school, including students and educators who are members of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (also known as a Gender and Sexuality Alliance or GSA).

GSAs play an essential role in creating and fostering inclusive and supportive environments for all students in the school, regardless of their gender identity and/or sexuality. Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam, B.C., established the first Canadian GSA in 1989 to support 2SLGBTQ+ students in an educational setting (Stonefish & Lafreniere, 2015). The club was organized by teachers and counsellors, modelled after community support programs, and this club structure continues to this day. Across Canada, GSAs are places where resources for students, teachers and administrators are found to support their 2SLGBTQ+ students and provide the knowledge to implement gender and sexual diversity inclusion in schools.

The first Gay-Straight Alliance in Saskatchewan was founded in 2001 at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon (CBC/Radio Canada, 2005), and the number of GSAs has been growing around the province since. Before the new Parents’ Bill of Rights, Saskatchewan GSAs were places where students could safely perform their preferred gender in an environment guaranteed to be accepting and affirming. Though not all gender non-conforming students come out to their GSAs first, they are safe places to do so (Di Stasio et al., 2023). A GSA is a place where students are referred to by their preferred name and pronoun(s), giving those students autonomy over their gender identity and gender performance.

In Saskatchewan, the structure and safety of Gay-Straight Alliances are now being threatened by Bill 137.

GSAs emphasize inclusivity for 2SLGBTQ+ students to find support and acceptance, whether from other 2SLGBTQ+ students, allied students, or 2SLGBTQ+/allied educators. These environments welcome all students, regardless of their gender or sexuality (Thompson, 2012). In these clubs, students learn valuable life lessons about diversity, empathy, respect, and acknowledgment of differences and similarities such as racial, ethnic and religious (Meyer, 2011). It is a place where students can find a community by sharing an emotional connection and social support with others in the school (Di Stasio et al., 2023). GSAs can help students connect with the larger 2SLGBTQ+ community by attending or creating events that bring together community members or other GSAs into the school or organizing field trips to local 2SLGBTQ+ organizations (Bain & Podmore, 2020).

Research has shown that GSAs help reduce bullying and harassment for 2SLGBTQ+ and non-2SLGBTQ+ students. Several studies show that when students learn about 2SLGBTQ+ issues at school, there is less bullying, absenteeism, homophobic language and negative gender identity remarks, and an increased sense of school safety (Di Stasio et al., 2023; Morrison et al., 2014; Porta et al., 2017; Russell et al., 2021). Additionally, students in schools with a GSA have reported more supportive educators and school staff, better grades, and less skipping school due to bullying and harassment around their actual or perceived gender identity or sexuality (Porta et al., 2017). This positivity is due to GSAs’ role as a place of education for 2SLGBTQ+ and allied students, educators, administrators and community members. They are a centre for social activism because they are youth-led and youth-driven towards activism and social change (Stonefish & Lafreniere, 2015). This activism centres around creating a safer environment for all students.

The nature of a GSA is to develop a sense of community through trust. Students and teachers could have difficulty building trust when students can only present themselves as they wish to be with prior parental approval, especially during initial introductions. A traditional way of introducing oneself at a GSA meeting is for people to state their names and pronouns so that others know how to address each other. This introduction format allows for an environment of trust and respect among club members and can also lead to more understanding and conversations around gender identity and pronouns (Hosking, 2023). These introductions can no longer be authentic for gender non-conforming students if they do not have prior parental permission to use their preferred name and pronoun(s). Saskatchewan’s Parents’ Bill of Rights prevents students from using their preferred names and pronouns without parental approval, leaving students without the autonomy and “dignity to present themselves in a way that is consistent with their thoughts and feelings on their self-identification” (MacDonald, 2023, p. 479). This lack of discussion within a GSA can lead to a lack of language and explanation developed by students and educators on gender identity, pronouns and acceptance.

Places of safety are essential for 2SLGBTQ+ students. The report Still in Every Class in Every School by Peter et al. (2021) states that there is still a greater risk for 2SLGBTQ+ students to struggle with mental health as they face unique challenges that their cisgender, straight peers do not. GSAs provide a support network for students to help improve their mental well-being by giving them resources geared toward the 2SLGBTQ+ community (Porta et al., 2017). Additionally, as mentioned above, schools with GSAs tend to have more inclusive school environments, which can reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues for all students and encourage them to seek mental health help.

Before Saskatchewan’s Bill 137 – Parents’ Bill of Rights Amendment Act, 2023 passed, some students in GSAs were not out to their parents about their preferred names and pronouns (Salloum, 2023). This Bill does not consider these students and does not grandfather them in. Students who are under 16 years of age, who had found safety, acceptance and understanding, and who were being called by their preferred names and pronouns within the GSAs, are now being deadnamed. There is a correlation between positive mental health and when preferred names are used for gender non-conforming people (Sinclair-Palm & Chokly, 2023). By taking away their preferred names, used with trusted adults and friends within the GSA, this Bill has taken away an essential way for students to articulate their identity and sense of self. I am not suggesting that all gender non-conforming students will or have changed their preferred names and/or pronouns. This story relates directly to those who did so in their GSAs before the Bill.

Communities should allow people to grow, learn and develop in a supportive, caring setting with trusted individuals. Most importantly, students need time, support, information and autonomy as they take their time to figure out their sense of their gender and constant revision can happen throughout this process of development (Diamond et al., 2011). GSAs are supposed to be environments where all the above are provided to students to help them grow into adults. Exploring gender is nearly impossible if students are not given the autonomy to do so, regardless of whether they have parental permission or not. Using students’ preferred names and pronouns is one of the most important parts of gaining students’ trust and supporting their journey (Diamond et al., 2011). It also shows respect towards students and allows them to assert who they are.

Gay-Straight Alliances (or Gender and Sexuality Alliances) are not exclusive to any student or group. They are inclusive environments that promote tolerance, understanding, empathy, compassion and a safe student environment. They serve as a valuable resource for both 2SLGBTQ+ and non-2SLGBTQ+ students by fostering a community of acceptance and respect, which benefits everyone in the school environment. The Saskatchewan Parents’ Bill of Rights erodes the sense of community and safety that a GSA offers students by preventing students under 16 years’ old from using their preferred pronouns or names without prior approval from their parents. Students no longer have the autonomy, dignity or right to present themselves in ways that best reflect their internal sense of self. Though the Parents’ Bill of Rights states that the intent is to create more conversations and understanding between students and parents, it does not mention that this is already a goal of GSAs while respecting the rights of the students to self-identify. Parents of trans children in Saskatchewan are protesting this Bill (Dayal, 2023), demonstrating their support for their students, and wanting Bill 137 to be withdrawn. These parents understand that Bill 137 goes against the needs of their and other gender non-conforming students’ needs and rights. GSAs are places within schools where students can feel safe and respected – Bill 137 has highlighted the importance of this feeling while reducing it in gender nonconforming students.

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