Wyant defends initial votes on pronoun legislation as ‘procedural’

Saskatoon mayoral candidate and former Saskatchewan Party MLA Gord Wyant said he made his views on the controversial gender pronoun policy “known” to his former Sask. Party colleagues when the Parents’ Bill of Rights was introduced in the legislature during an emergency session in October 2023.

Wyant, who announced his campaign for Saskatoon mayor on June 10, after Mayor Charlie Clark announced last January he wouldn’t run for office again, said he previously didn’t vote on the legislation the government brought forward last October.

Following a North Saskatoon Business Association luncheon on Tuesday, Wyant acknowledged he voted in favour of the new legislation during the first two readings. He highlighted they were procedural votes to get the bill on the floor.

“I didn’t vote in the final vote, which is the vote that counts in terms of passing the legislation. I expressed my concern in terms of the legislation, and I took the opportunity not to be in the legislature that day to cast a vote in favour of the legislation,” he said.

But when asked why he voted in favour of the legislation during the first two readings, he said there were a lot of conversations which go on at the cabinet table and the caucus table concerning any piece of legislation.

“Certainly I made my views known to my colleagues in terms of the process that we were going through as far as the legislation was concerned, so as a cabinet minister and cabinet solidarity, I felt it necessary to engage in the conversations at that particular stage,” he added.

Hundreds rallied in Regina last October showing their opposition to the government’s pronoun policy. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Wyant also admitted he didn’t say anything at the time publicly about his personal views.

He said people need to remember that he was a former Minister of Justice who brought forward changes to the Human Rights Code to bring gender identity in as a prohibited ground of discrimination.

“I’m very proud of that. Bringing that to the floor of the assembly and having a unanimous vote,” he said adding that was the reason he didn’t cast his vote on the third reading of the bill.

When asked whether he was simply at another event at the time, or whether he made a conscientious decision not to attend the vote, he claimed he made a specific decision not to vote.

Wyant added it was important to get the bill to the debate stage. However, Premier Scott Moe recalled MLAs two weeks early in the fall of 2023, not only to debate but to ultimately pass the Parents’ Bill of Rights by the majority Saskatchewan Party Government.

“Certainly the government has enough votes on the floor of the assembly to pass that legislation. The process in terms of getting the legislation onto the floor of the assembly I had some challenges with, I think the fact that the legislation hadn’t been determined to be constitutional at the time the legislation came forward was a bit of a challenge I think, for me,” he continued.

Wyant won’t be participating in the Saskatoon Pride parade after the organization banned Saskatchewan Party MLAs from participating this year, similar to a decision made by Regina Pride.

He believes there’s work to be done to repair relations with the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

“We’ve agreed to move forward and have a conversation after the Pride festival is over, to start re-building the relationship that I hope to have with that community,” he said.

“I think there’s a challenge with the relationship certainly, given the position that the government’s taken on the legislation,” he added.

But Wyant said he believes his support in previous years will allow for an opportunity to rebuild that relationship.