Minister defends pronoun law after government MLAs barred from Pride parades

Saskatchewan’s education minister says it’s disappointing that he and his government colleagues have been barred from several Pride parades in the province, but it hasn’t changed his mind on his government’s school pronoun policy.

On Monday morning, Queen City Pride announced it will not allow Saskatchewan Party MLAs to participate in its parade and will not hold a flag-raising ceremony at the legislature.

The decision was a direct response to a government policy which requires schools to get parental permission if a child under 16 wants to change the name or pronouns they use at school.

Education Minster Jeremy Cockrill, who spearheaded the push on the legislation last fall, said it was a disappointing move by the organization to ban the government from its parade.

“It’s too bad,” Cockrill said on Monday afternoon. “When we have large, provincial events, it’s something we hope that everybody’s able to attend.”

The minister said he still thinks the law was a positive change and a step forward for the province, saying the goal is to include parents in important decisions.

“I understand, for many, it was a challenging topic,” Cockrill said.

“I feel quite comfortable with the fact that we’ve legislated the ability for parents to involved in important conversations and decisions in a child’s life. I’m comfortable with where we landed on that.”

While Cockrill hasn’t attended a Pride parade and didn’t know what month they’re held, other government MLAs have attended parades in Regina and other cities. Premier Scott Moe drive in the pride parade in Saskatoon in 2019, but hasn’t since.

When asked if he considers himself an ally of the queer community, Cockrill said he believes he’s an ally of all his constituents.

“I know in my community I strive to represent everybody, so I’m hoping that if I’ve got 20,000 constituents that I’m an ally to 20,000 constituents. Those are the people that I have the honour of representing, and certainly, I try to do that job each and every day,” he said.

The minister added that the province’s motto on its coat of arms is “from many peoples strength,” which he said the government takes quite seriously.

Some other Pride groups either followed or supported Queen City Pride’s lead on Monday, barring government members from participating, appearing to show a damaged relationship between the provincial government and the province’s queer community. When asked if any measures have been taken to try to repair that relationship, Cockrill said his constituency office is open and he’s available for meetings in Regina.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck said the government has stopped listening and respecting what they hear from the community.

“It’s reasonable that people in this province – organizations like Queen City Pride – expect their leaders not just to show up for ribbon cuttings and parades, that the respect that they claim to have when they show up to events like this actually extends to their behaviour,” said Beck.

NDP MLAs are often seen in Pride parades across the province, and Beck said they will be present this year as well.