Sask. Party policy an attack on children

Not the future we want to see

by katlyn richardson, contributor

The Government of Saskatchewan has declared that students under the age of 16 need a parent’s permission to change the name and pronouns they use in school. The argument was to give parents more choice in regard to their children’s education.  

The reality is this phrase is nothing more than an alt-right dog whistle for attacking 2SLGBTQIA+ kids with a false concern for the kids. The actual reality is that there’s typically a very good reason a trans kid isn’t out to their parents: their parents are not someone safe for these kids to be open with. A lot of parents would toss their kid on the street to fight for themself which is exactly what these kinds of policy allow and even promote.  

Not only are teachers, who are already overworked, expected to teach sexual health with little to no supports from organizations that dedicate themselves to doing so, they now have to put a child’s safety in danger because the conservatives in this country could never fathom the idea that a child is a person and not some sex trophy to be controlled.  

I truly do fear for the future generations of kids in the province. Saskatchewan tries to claim it is a very welcoming place to be, but the second you are not of this perfect cookie cutter mold of a nuclear white cisgender heterosexual family is the same moment you are looked at differently and, more often than not, made to feel unwelcome. The Sask. Party and their right-wing cronies are consistently making this province a worse place to live, to the point I genuinely do not want to be a parent here because of the policy decisions being made.  

I barely feel safe, and my relationship at first glance seems like a cisgender heterosexual one. I fear for my friends who have kids, about the world their kids will grow up in because it’s becoming very clear to me that it will not be the future I had thought might happen in the coming years where kids get to figure themselves out while lovingly supported by their families and peers. Now the world I see is a world where kids are too scared to be open or even figure out who they are.  

The policies like the ones the Sask. Party has put in place come from a place of hatred and aim to fan the flames of hate. The government of this province has decided to take their hatred out on the children who do not get a say on who runs their curriculum, what rules protect (or in this case, harm) them get put in effect, and get treated as an extension of their parents. Children are typically pretty good at judging if a person is safe for them to interact with and have limited error in doing so unless instructed to ignore what their instincts are telling them.  

The Sask. Party is not here to do what is right for you and your family. They are only here to serve the rich with their hands in their pockets and their fascist pals. If supporting fascists is okay for you because one party closed a single hospital over twenty years ago, you are a fascist and now the innocent kids of this province are suffering because of your choices.