Francophone district education council seeks legal opinion on Policy 713

The district education council in at least one francophone school district has sought advice from Ottawa-based law firm Emond Harnden about how to respond to New Brunswick's new gender-identity school policy.

The decision comes on the heels of a decision by anglophone district education councils to hire a lawyer to help them decide whether they can sue the province over Policy 713.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has already announced it plans to sue over the policy, which the government changed this summer.

A news release this week from the Francophone Northwest district said the district education council finds itself in a difficult position on the policy. 

"We are caught between the education and childhood development minister, and the child and youth advocate,"  Francine Cyr, the president of the district education council, said in the French-language release.

Cyr was not available for an interview Wednesday.

Education Minister Bill Hogan has changed Policy 713 to make it mandatory for teachers to get parental consent when students under 16 ask that their chosen names and pronouns be used verbally. Official name and pronoun changes for that age group have always required parental consent, and that hasn't changed. 

If those younger students aren't ready to speak to their parents, they are to be encouraged to see an "appropriate professional," the policy says, to help them come up with a plan to speak to their parents.

But Kelly Lamrock, the province's child and youth advocate, said in August that the changes to the gender-identity policy violate the provincial Human Rights Act, the Education Act and children's charter rights.

In the release this week, the Francophone Northwest education council said it would act in the interests of students of the district.

"It's our duty to offer them a healthy, safe and inclusive educational environment that respects their legal and fundamental rights," Cyr said.

The same district had announced in June that it would hold public consultations on the matter, but in the release, it said it decided obtaining a legal opinion was a better course of action. 

Cyr said the file has evolved a lot in several weeks and council members believe that working with lawyers is the best way to make informed decisions and to best defend the interests of children and youth.

According to the news release, the Francophone Northeast and Francophone South district councils wanted lawyers to help with their 713 questions.

A spokesperson for Francophone Northeast confirmed this was the case but Francophone South did not respond to questions.