Policy 713 and kids: Fact checking 4 statements made by the premier

WARNING: This story contains discussion of suicide

A month after beginning a review of an educationpolicy that protects LGBTQ youth, Premier Blaine Higgs hasrevealed exactly what is being reviewed and why.

Policy 713 was introduced in 2020 to guarantee minimum support for LGBTQstudents. This includes things like making sure teachers use students' correct pronouns and that gender-neutral washrooms are available.

On Tuesday, Higgs said the review is being done for parents' sake.

The policy says if a child wants an informal name or pronoun change to be used in the classroom, then the teacher would need the child's consent to share that fact with the parent. Higgs said the province will study this part of the policyasit may not be appropriate because it takes away parents' rights.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Higgs made a number ofstatements. TheCBC has fact-checked four of them.

1. The policy is keeping parents in the dark and taking away a parent's right to know about a name change.

Parents must sign off on any official name changes for children under 16, and that rule has not been changed. The policy adds a line about an informal name or pronounchange requiring the child's consent to share that with the parent.

Gail Costello, the co-chair of Pride in Education, a non-profit that contributed to the implementationof the policy, said teachers have never been obligated to share informal name changes with parents, and this policy is not revoking any previous obligationor parental right.

Costello retired from Oromocto High School after teaching for 30 years. She said she's seen a lot of kids who would be in danger, andpossibly isolated or kicked out of their homes, if their parents knew they were trans or gay. She said this is why she would never tell a parent about a name or pronoun change without consent from the student butshe also has never been asked.

WATCH | Retired teacher reacts to premier's scrum with reporters:

A critic analyzes Premier Blaine Higgss comments on Policy 713

1 year ago

Duration 5:20

Gail Costello of Pride in Education watched the premiers scrum with reporters on a controversial review of a safe-schools policy. Watch to see what she had to say.

Costello said she ran the school's Gay/Straight Alliiance for at least 10 years. "I never,ever, ever had a parent even inquire about it," she said. "If they had, I wouldn't have told them."

Higgs said"Kids are kids andadults are adults," and parents are responsible for their children. But Costello saidthe safety of the students trumpsthe parents' desire to know what name their childrengo by.

"The parents are not going to be in any risk whatsoever to find out that their [child]goes by John as opposed to Joan at school," Costello said.

"But it is important for the kids to be able to use the name that they feel more comfortable with. It's good for their mental health."

2.Higgs saidparental abuse and lack of acceptance "may exist,"and it "may be a reality" that outing kidsis harmful because some parents arehomophobic.

Abuse of LGBTQ children by some parents is a reality.

According to Dr.Alex Abramovich with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, up to 40 per cent of youth struggling with homelessness in North America identify as LGBTQ, and the majority are on the street because ofabuse and homophobia at home.

"Family violence and rejection are associated with serious physical and mental health outcomes among [those]youth, including post-traumatic stress disorder, increased risk of suicide, anxiety, depressionand substance use," he said.

Costello said some of her students in Oromocto had been kicked out for being outed or discovered as gay or trans, and some of them had slept on park benches for days before she found out.

"I had a student who was very, very worried about being physically abused and kicked out," she said. "This student had a bag prepared, had a friend's parent's phone number, had a little money in bag."

Costello also said some students feel they don't have a way out.

LGBTQ youth '3times more likely to attempt suicide'

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 24in Canada, after accidents, according to Statistics Canada. Since 2016, about 3,000 youth in that age group died by suicide.

LGBTQ youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide, according to research conducted by JAMA Pediatrics,and trans youth are six times as likely. Those numbers are higherin a more recent Canadian Medical Journal study.

3. Drag queen storytimeis an example of why the review is needed.

Higgs said he doesn't think elementary and kindergarten children should attend drag queen storytime events, asking "Are we trying to teach tolerance and acceptance, or are we trying to teach promotion?"

In fact, Policy 713 does not address drag storytime, and it does not change the sex-education curriculum or what kids are taught in schools. It outlines howtrans and gay kids can be protected from discriminationand provides guidelines to administrators on how to make schools safe.

Also, LGBTQ history and education does not make people gay, according to the American Psychiatric Association and many other experts. Conversion therapy is illegal in Canada not only because it's harmful to LGBTQ people, but also because there is no scientific data that shows changing someone's sexuality is possible.

4. Higgs"can't comment" on whether kitty litter conspiracy theory is true or false.

Child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock said the review appears to have been prompted by a total of three emails to the department over the 30 months since Policy 713 was adopted.The government has said there were more than three complaints.

One of the three emailsthat Lamrock references asks about a widespread but debunked belief that students can identify as animals and use litter boxes in schools.

There are no reports from anywhere ofchildrenidentifyingas cats orbeing provided with kitty litter. The premier said he "doesn't think" the conspiracy theory is true, but wouldnot say it's false.

The theory has in fact been debunked in many jurisdictions including Quebecand Prince Edward Island(in 2021), as well as many places in the United States.

IF YOU NEED HELP:

CHIMO hotline:1-800-667-5005 /http://www.chimohelpline.ca

Kids Help Phone:1-800-668-6868

Canada Suicide Prevention Service:1-833-456-4566