The founder of Action4Canada, Tanya Gaw, takes pride in her organization’s role in persuading the Saskatchewan Party government to instate certain policies concerning pronouns and sexual education guidelines affecting school-going children. An influential move that was pressing the ban on Planned Parenthood’s presence in schools and cancellation of SOGI 123, a sexual health promotional program, which was realized several months after campaigning.
In their pursuit of these changes, Action4Canada mustered over 10,000 email petitions, sent directly to the previous Education Minister Dustin Duncan and incumbent Premier Scott Moe. As part of their efforts, a member of Action4Canada met with Duncan’s staff, levying what they termed as a “notice of liability” for the exposure of children to controversial resources.
Gaw confirms steadfast efforts to influence policymakers, including leveraging opportunities like a park meet-and-greet with prominent officials. She, however, has not revealed the number of emails that either originated from Saskatchewan residents or parents of school-aged children.
The procedure culminated in August with Duncan prohibiting third-party bodies from conducting sexual education lessons and approving parents the right to withdraw their children if so desired. Additionally, the policy required parental consent for children under 16 desiring to use other names or pronouns in school.
In response, UR Pride, a community body representing the LGBTQ+ community in Regina, initiated legal proceedings objecting to this pronoun directive. Contending it breaches Charter rights, it could feasibly expose children to their parents or contribute to invalid gender identification in schools.
Reacting to the policy changes, Gaw called them a “partial win”. Her group was in hopes of extending the ban to exclude non-governmental and “special interest groups,” like Pride, from hoisting their flags in schools.
Contrarily, a spokesperson for the government denied allegations of influence by Action4Canada, stating this policy was primarily driven by parental consensus across Saskatchewan.
Premier Moe implies a resilience in his administration’s stance, announcing a legislative introduction in the forthcoming season for the preservation of parental rights.
In regard to the affected students, the province promises that schools will provide necessary support for those unable to secure acceptance at home for their gender orientation. However, the details of the support system are yet to be explained.
Meanwhile, Action4Canada remains vociferous against what they allege as “indoctrination” over LGBTQ+ issues in schools and other divisive matters including ‘climate fraud and opposition to Covid-19 mandates.
The organization’s influence isn’t limited to Saskatchewan. Gaw orchestrated a parallel campaign endorsing New Brunswick’s gender pronoun policy, inundating officials with a flurry of emails.
To contradict these claims, Helen Kennedy, director of Egale Canada—an LGBTQ+ national entity—referenced data to back up the need for inclusive policies for diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools. Kennedy stated, these practices ultimately lead to more rounded and healthier graduates.
Despite the incendiary environment, members of the Action4Canada persist in attending school board meetings, vocalizing their disapproval of sex education and other gender-related issues. Participation occasionally escalates, prompting the need to adjourn sessions.
Correspondingly, Regina’s Civic Awareness and Action Network expressed concerns on the concept of “gender-affirming care”. Wayne Bernakevitch, founder of the group, clarified that any disruption during public gathering was not his group’s intent.
During this turmoil, an anonymous flyer circulated in Regina neighborhoods, urging opposition against pronoun-centric policies through direct communication with Duncan and the board chair of Regina Public Schools.
Unified Grassroots, a similarly inclined group, denies responsibility for the flyer but acknowledges support for Action4Canada’s petition against Planned Parenthood, prompted by an incident where a staff member disseminated adult content to a Grade 9 class.
Enthusiastically discussing the influence of parental voices, Nadine Ness—Unified Grassroots founder—undoubtedly identifies their organization’s communication drive as a vital source of awareness expansion on these issues impacting families.
