Province facing backlash for move toward mandatory pronoun notification in schools

As thousands of kids returned to Alberta classrooms on Tuesday. The government is facing backlash over the province moving toward mandatory pronoun notification in schools. Advocacy groups say the changes are unconstitutional.

“This policy will cause significant harm to students in the province and specifically violate their constitutional rights, their charter rights,” said Bennett Jensen, the director of legal of Egale Canada.

National advocacy group Egale Canada and Alberta-based Skipping Stone Foundation filed a constitutional challenge against a specific aspect of the Education Amendment Act, 2024, formerly known as Bill 27 — specifically the requirement for educators to notify parents if students ask for different names or pronouns at school.

“Bill 27 sets up a situation where, re