Unifor ‘appalled’ following Stephen Lecce’s comments on child pronouns

Unifor, Canada’s largest union in the private sector, says it’s appalled following Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s comments on a child’s desire to change their pronouns while at school.

Discussion on the matter comes as several Canadian provinces, including Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, adopt a new gender and pronoun policy mandating parental consent for students 16 and under who want to change their given names and or pronouns at school.

On Monday, Lecce said parents “must be fully involved” to understand what’s happening in their children’s lives, acknowledging that Ontario schools must be safe for children and that teachers are required to know “who to turn to if they believe that child may be harmed for whatever reason, or whatever circumstance.”

One day later, Unifor issued a statement, saying back-to-school could mean dangerous outings for Ontario trans students in light of Lecce’s comments.

“For queer and trans students, exploring their identity in social settings is hard enough without their teachers being forced to out them to parents for the simple request of going by a different name or pronoun in class,” said Lana Payne, Unifor’s  national president.

“By dragging Ontario schools into this culture war, Minister Lecce is proving that Ontario’s PCs are just like any other Tories – ready to throw trans kids under the bus to distract from policies that have decimated public services, including education.”

RELATED: LGBTQ advocates in Saskatchewan gear up for human rights fight over pronoun rules

On Monday, hours before Lecce’s press conference, a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute concerning students wanting to change the pronouns of the sex they were assigned at birth, 78 per cent of those surveyed say parents need to be informed of this by the school.

Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education for Ontario makes an announcement. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The survey found that the strongest support for consent came in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while Atlantic provinces gave it the lowest approval.

Saskatchewan has mandated parental consent for the coming school year, as has New Brunswick. In Manitoba, it has become an election issue.

Unifor is accusing Lecce of “following in the footsteps of the reactionary anti-trans policies introduced in New Brunswick and most recently in Saskatchewan.”

“Less than a week before kids go back to school, their Minister of Education sends a message that their rights don’t matter and they won’t be kept safe. That’s unacceptable,” said Samia Hashi, regional director of Unifor Ontario.

“Education workers want to build supportive schools and classrooms that protect students’ rights and oppose bullying, but Lecce’s dog-whistle on parents’ rights is a sharp right turn that will endanger students and force them to be deadnamed at school or outed at home.”