Minister silent on next step in battle with education council

New Brunswick's education minister is staying silent for now about his next move in an increasingly acrimonious dispute with one of the province's school districts.

The Anglophone East district is challenging Bill Hogan in court, a legal battle that Hogan claims it doesn't have the authority to wage.

This week, Hogan vowed to take "further action" against the district, which he said in a letter on Monday is spending money on the court case "improperly and without the legal authority to do so."

Harry Doyle, the district education council chair, responded that Hogan has "no authority" to interfere with the district's decision to sue.

"The DEC is mandated to protect the students in its care," Doyle wrote in an April 16 letter.

"The current litigation is to ensure that students are being cared for in a manner conforming to the Charter and provincial statutes."

Hogan's office said it could not arrange an interview with the minister Thursday or say what he may do next.

During a hearing on the case Wednesday, the district's lawyer Perri Ravon said Hogan's correspondence "indicates a determination not only to have Policy 713 applied as soon as possible, but a determination to prevent Anglophone East from challenging it in court."

Last year's changes to the policy require parents' consent if their children under 16 want to change the names or pronouns they use in school to reflect their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The Anglophone East council says the requirement violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the provincial Human Rights Act and the Education Act, and is asking the court to block its implementation.

Last year, the council adopted a modified version of the provincial policy, which it says Hogan has threatened to "quash."

In an April 11 letter, Doyle also accused Hogan of threatening to go to court to dissolve the council if it did not fall in line.

The case that was back in court this week includes an application for an injunction to block Hogan from doing that. 

Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare set June 18-19 to hear arguments on that injunction application and the one that would block Hogan from quashing its version of the policy.

The minister argued in an earlier April 5 letter that district education councils can spend money "for educational purposes only" and not on a lawsuit.

He demanded the district hand over information about how much it was spending in the Policy 713 case.

The council responded April 11 by quoting the Education Act, which allows a council "to sue and be sued." It argued the expense is legitimate because the treatment of vulnerable 2SLGBTQ+ students is part of the "operation of" the school district. 

The province's Policy 713 changes "force Anglophone East to participate in practices that will further disempower and harm its more vulnerable members rather than contribute to their success and enhance the vitality of the community," the April 11 DEC letter said.

Hogan's April 15 response pointed out the Education Act also says a district education council "shall provide" a minister with any information he or she "considers necessary" and said the district's 2024-25 budget had no funding for the legal challenge.

It also warned that if the council didn't explain where it was getting the money for the case by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, "I will be taking further action." The letter warned that council members may be held personally liable.

Doyle's reply the next day pointed out that all council spending is posted daily to Oracle, an internal financial tracking system, which the department has access to.

"The DEC does not understand why the Minister is asking the DEC to provide information, on such a short deadline, that is already available to the department," Doyle wrote, adding that the money is from the district's regular operating budget.

Until last December, provincial policy allowed the government to pay for a district's hiring of lawyers for legal cases.

But that policy was changed to say that if a district and the province are at odds in a legal dispute, the province will provide "no further legal or financial support" for the case.

The district's case is one of two now before the courts challenging the changes to Policy 713. 

Last fall in the legislature, Hogan said it was "inappropriate" to speculate about how the court might rule in the case but said he believed the government was "on the right side of this question, we're on the right side of this issue and the court will rule in our favour."