The New Brunswick Liberals say that if elected, teachers will no longer need parental consent before they can use the preferred first names and pronouns of transgender students under 16.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt made the announcement today as she released her party’s platform.
The Liberals’ promise is a response to a reform imposed in 2023 by the Progressive Conservative government under Premier Blaine Higgs, who said parents must be informed if their children are questioning their gender identity.
Higgs’s changes were criticized across the country, including by the prime minister, but polling suggests the policy is popular in the province.
Meanwhile, the Tory leader promised today that if re-elected his party would introduce legislation forcing people into drug treatment if authorities deem they “pose a threat to themselves or others.”
Holt says the province doesn’t have resources to force people into treatment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.