JFCY was granted intervenor status in this case where UR Pride brought a constitutional challenge against a Saskatchewan law that requires schools to obtain parental permission before using chosen names and pronouns by students who are under age 16. The Government of Saskatchewan pre-emptively invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause in its legislation (s. 33); which, if allowed to stand, would override Charter rights. The organization UR Pride brought a Charter challenge, claiming that the legislation violates the Charter rights to equality (s. 15), security of the person (s. 7), and to be free from cruel and unusual treatment (s. 12) of vulnerable and marginalized students, and seeking declaratory relief. The Government of Saskatchewan claimed that the use of the Notwithstanding clause insulates the law from any judicial review.
At the hearing in September 2024, JFCY provided a child-rights informed analysis of the core issues in dispute, namely: 1) the availability of judicial review and declaratory relief when the Notwithstanding Clause of s. 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been pre-emptively invoked in legislation; and 2) the permissibility and propriety of permitting the amendment of the pleadings by UR Pride to include a claim under s. 12 of the Charter. JFCY argued that the analysis of these issues must place children, whose interests are directly at stake, at the centre of each of the issues under consideration.
The Court of Appeal found that even when the government invokes the notwithstanding clause, the courts maintain the jurisdiction to determine violations of Charter rights. This ruling meant that the legal challenge to the pronoun law, which requires parental consent for a student under 16 to use their chosen name or pronouns at school, could proceed at the Court of King’s Bench.
However, the Government is seeking an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Which means the hearing will not proceed until a decision at this Court level occurs.
Supreme Court of Canada Case No 41979 – shows current status and progression of the appeal
