PC caucus rejected review of gender-identity policy once before, former minister says

Former education minister Dominic Cardy says the Progressive Conservative government caucus already rejected the idea of reviewing Policy 713 in 2020, not long after he put it into effect. 

The Fredericton West-Hanwell MLA, who sits as an independent, said the policy on sexual orientation and gender identity "was years in the making, involved considerable grassroots engagement and has been in effect without incident for a couple of years."

He said Premier Blaine Higgs raised several concerns in 2020, "most of which were not real," and took it to the PC caucus hoping MLAs would agree to review it.

Instead, the MLAs "largely reacted with support for the policy," he said.

The review of the policy, which sets minimum requirement for making schools safe and inclusive for LGBTQ students, has triggered a wave of criticism. 

Higgs said Tuesday he didn't act on his concerns when the policy was adopted because such policies don't get "a whole lot of air time" and don't require cabinet approval.

"I knew about it, but didn't know the particular content," said the premier, who questioned why it wasn't debated publicly at the time.

But Cardy said he sent the finished document to Higgs's office "for a final look-over" at the time and never heard back, so he signed it into effect just before the 2020 campaign. 

It was only after the election that Higgs summoned him and deputy minister George Daley to a meeting to hear his concerns and then went to the PC caucus hoping to deliver a "coup de grâce," Cardy said.

Instead, the caucus was generally comfortable with the document. 

"It was probably the most well-developed policy that the department had worked on in a number of years, in terms of the number of stakeholders involved and the efforts to get people's voices heard and to make sure it was done carefully," Cardy said.

Current Education Minister Bill Hogan said Wednesday he remembered no such caucus discussion after the last election and didn't recall ever discussing Policy 713 before this year.

Housing Minister Jill Green, who co-signed a letter with Cardy in 2021 critical of the government's handling of Indigenous land declarations, wouldn't say if she recalled the caucus endorsing the policy.

"This policy has been in place for a couple of years. We're all aware of it and I'm not going to speak about what we were talking about in caucus or cabinet, of course," she said.

Green also wouldn't say if she thinks the policy should be changed.

"I strongly support children, I strongly support the safety of children, the safety of children in schools and the LGBTQSI children within the schools, and I will use my voice to continue to advocate for them," Green said.

Premier questions drag queen storytime

Higgs provoked strong criticism on Tuesday when he said schools should not be allowed to keep a student's adoption of a new name and pronoun secret from their parents when the student is younger than 16.

He did not clearly explain why he thinks parents should always know about the choice, even in cases where they may be hostile to their child's sexual orientation or gender identity.

He also questioned whether drag queen storytime events in school amounted to "promotion" of a different sexual orientation and refused to say if he thinks children would become gay after participating.

Those remarks prompted an outpouring of criticism online.

Several PC MLAs, including senior cabinet ministers Ernie Steeves, Mike Holland and Jeff Carr, would not take questions on the subject Wednesday.

Moncton South MLA Greg Turner, who chairs the PC caucus, also wouldn't comment.

Opposition Liberal Leader Susan Holt said she suspects most PC MLAs would like Policy 713 to remain as is and that the push to weaken it is coming from Higgs.

"I think his caucus is broadly supportive of the policy, of Policy 713. I don't think this is a partisan thing. I think it's more personal."

Some other PC members said they supported the review. 

"It's just a review. A simple review. That's all it is," said Moncton Southwest MLA Sherry Wilson. "It's nothing major to be changed."

She said she "absolutely" supports the premier.

Minister of Women's Equality Tammy Scott-Wallace said Wednesday she did not know if the policy should be changed. 

She said all children need to feel safe and included at school, and parents have "a very important role to play" in their children's lives.

"I'm never afraid to have conversations. It is a new policy so I'm not afraid of the conversations circulating this past week," she said.

Review 'important' says Kris Austin

Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said it's important to have the review. 

He said he has to consent to his school-aged children taking a Tylenol at school, having their picture taken and going on a field trip, and the pronoun issue was no different. 

Hogan and Higgs both argued Wednesday that if a child feels they're in danger at home because of their sexual orientation or gender identify or any other reason, other mechanisms exist for teachers or school staff to step in.

"If a teacher believes there is a serious danger to a student, they are required by law to notify social services," Hogan said.

Carleton-Victoria MLA Margaret Johnson, a former teacher, read a statement in the legislature Wednesday marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Johnson said she volunteered to read it as a former teacher who taught trans students.

She acknowledged to reporters that some children have relationships with their parents "that are not ideal" and agreed those students have ways to get confidential support at school.

But she didn't say whether a child's pronoun choice should have to be disclosed to parents.