CCLA granted standing to bring case against N.B. gender-identity policy

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has cleared its first hurdle in a lawsuit against New Brunswick and its new gender-identity policy.

The province changed Policy 713 to require parental consent before school staff can use pronouns requested by children under 16. The association alleges this rule is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

On Friday, Justice Robert Dysart ruled that the organization has public-interest standing to bring the suit on behalf of young students and their parents. 

Dysart said it would be unreasonable to expect students or their parents to have the resources to file the lawsuit themselves.

"Surely, gender identity is among the most 'intimate and private' matters for anyone to deal with, especially children under the age of 16," Dysart said.

WATCH | Policy 713 changes have potentially far-reaching legal implications: 

CBC Explains: N.B. is being sued over Policy 713

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A lawsuit says changes the New Brunswick government made to an LGBTQ student policy violate children's rights. Here's what's going down in court.

He said children or parents would also have to tolerate the "scrutiny and potential for harassment" that could come from becoming the face of the lawsuit.

"Some of the [social media] responses were aggressive and equated disagreement with the Minister's changes to Policy 713 with psychological abuse of children and indoctrination," Dysart said. 

"It seems unlikely that any affected person — whether a child or a parent of a child … would be inclined to assume that type of scrutiny and potential abuse in order to bring the matter before the Court."

The province did not argue against granting public-interest standing to the association. 

The association's suit alleges the policy violates children's charter rights to liberty, equality and freedom of expression because it takes away children's power to choose pronouns fundamental to their identity, discriminates against them and limits gender expression.

The province has not yet filed a statement of defence.

Dysart said the legal issues at stake are serious, and the association has "genuine interest" in the issue and is not "mere busy bodies."

"In my view, there is no doubt that the application which the CCLA seeks to bring against the Minister indeed raises serious justiciable issues," Dysart said. "While the outcome is far from certain, the threshold is a low one."

The next step would be hearing from all 14 organizations that have applied to intervene and add to the arguments. No dates have been set.