Education minister says francophone schools are following Policy 713
Bill Hogan says district education councils can avoid showdown if they reflect reality on their websites
New Brunswick's education minister is stepping back from the brink of a legal battle with three francophone district education councils over their gender-identity policies.
Bill Hogan claims he has anecdotal evidence that a majority of schools in the three districts are following the province's Policy 713, despite what the councils are saying and have posted on their websites.
And he said if those councils would only reflect that reality online, there would be no need to escalate the dispute.
"The information that I have is that the schools are following the provincial policy but the DECs don't want to have change what they have written down. And I don't understand why they want to pick a fight about nothing," he told reporters.
If the councils would "quit pretending" that schools aren't following Policy 713, the situation won't escalate and "life will go on," he said. "Let's get on with it."
Hogan wouldn't say exactly how the information is reaching him.
"I'm getting it through a variety of sources, from teachers. I get it from my staff," he said.
"I would invite the DECs to maybe talk to teachers and see what they're doing. … I don't have any reason to question what people have told me."
Earlier this week, Hogan appeared to threaten the three councils with dissolution, the same process he plans to launch against the Anglophone East district education council.
But on Friday he refused to say whether the "process" he talks about following would involve dissolution.
Changes to Policy 713 last year require school staff to obtain the consent of parents if a student under the age of 16 wants to adopt a new name and pronoun at school that reflects their gender identity.
Those changes are the subject of two legal challenges that argue they violate the equality rights of 2SLGBTQ+ students under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The three francophone districts have adopted identical policies on implementing 713 that allow students in Grade 6 or older to adopt new names and pronouns.
Hogan has demanded that they repeal those policies, but they remain on district websites as of this week.
"Our position still hasn't changed," Francophone South chair Michel Côté said at an education council meeting Wednesday night.
Côté could not be reached for comment on Hogan's statements.
Francophone Northeast spokesperson Brigitte Couturier said the district had no comment.
Francophone Northwest spokesperson Alain Sirois referred reporters to the district's Policy 4.17 on its website — the policy that Hogan wants repealed, which allows students in Grade 6 and above to choose new names and pronouns.
"This is the policy that is currently in effect," he said in an email.
Experts say Hogan would face an uphill battle trying to dissolve the three francophone districts because Section 23 of the Charter guarantees the right of minority-language communities to manage their own schools.
Opposition Liberal Leader Susan Holt said Hogan's comments suggested he realized a legal showdown with the francophone education councils would not end well for him.
"He knows that he can't dissolve the francophone DECs and he's looking for an excuse to cover up his tracks."
Hogan acknowledged that he'd rather avoid legal battles.
He said his deputy minister and assistant deputy minister in the francophone sector are talking to the three councils to try to sort things out.
"We're trying to come to some resolution here that doesn't require further, more drastic, steps and following the process as is laid out."
He would not provide a deadline.
"I'm going to let them work until they say that they're not having any success."
Meanwhile, Premier Blaine Higgs wouldn't say whether his cabinet had adopted an order-in-council at its meeting this week to launch the legal application to dissolve the Anglophone East council.
The process requires a cabinet order and an application to the Court of King's Bench.
"I won't speak to a cabinet decision at this point until it becomes public," he said.
"But I think the minister has been very clear that would be the next step."
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