A large group of about 400 disappointed parents, children, and teachers gathered Sunday outside of Saskatchewan Party MLA Don Morgan’s office to protest the provincial government’s new policies about both sexual education and the use of pronouns in the school system.

As of last Tuesday, the province is requiring parental consent when children under the age of 16 would like to change their names or pronouns at school. Guardians must also be informed about any sexual education classes that are happening and will now have the option of opting their children out. In addition, boards of education must also halt involvement with any third-party organization that specialize in sexual education.

Event organizer, and mother of two transgender children, Fran Forsberg, says some children don’t have support at home regarding their gender identity, and school should be a safe space for them. She has heard that some children are not going to register for school in September because of these decisions. Forsberg believes that support for gender diverse children significantly decreases their risk of self-harm.

Her daughter, Skylar Forsberg, says regarding the removal of third-party organizations that teach sexual education, she has noticed that young people need quite the opposite. She says there are a lot of people who didn’t plan to have a family so suddenly, and they are struggling.
Both Forsberg and her daughter hope that the protest achieves a higher level of awareness and inclusivity inside the school system. Forsberg noted that she thinks these changes were nothing more than a political move to pander to the far-right, due to the fact that they lost two seats to the New Democratic Party in the recent by-elections.