FREDERICTON, New Brunswick (LifeSiteNews) – New Brunswick Progressive Conservatives failed to trigger a leadership review of Premier Blaine Higgs over his decision to add parental protections to its Gender Identity policy for public schools.
On July 31, New Brunswick Progressive Conservative (PC) Party president Erika Hachey announced the party had not received sufficient complaints to begin the process to remove the Higgs from office.
“I have determined that the requirements have not been satisfied,” Hachey said. “The leadership review process has not been triggered.”
In May, Higgs came under fire by LGBT activists for reviewing the province’s Gender Identity policy, as it allowed schools to hide students’ “transgender” status from parents.
“For [a desire to be identified with the opposite sex] purposefully to be hidden from the parents, that’s a problem,” Higgs told reporters, referring to his desire to change Policy 713, which currently requires children give consent for their parents to be informed if they decide to “change” their gender at school.
“To suggest that it’s okay that parents don’t need to know — just stop and think about that question for a moment,” he added.
Under the new policy, parental consent would be necessary for teachers to use different names or pronouns for students under age 16.
In July, the PC party members submitted what they believed were letters from at least 50 party members required to begin a review of Higg’s leadership and eventually remove him from office.
However, after a review and legal advice, just over 40 letters from current party members were submitted, with only 15 from actual riding presidents. As a result, Hachey set a new deadline of August 19, hoping to receive the sufficient number of letters by then.
Should the party receive the necessary letters, the leadership review must be approved by the PC Party’s provincial council of around 75 members including riding presidents, five caucus members, and other regional party heads. The party is scheduled to meet September 9.
‘Overwhelming support for the premier from the riding associations’
Despite the claims of mainstream media and LGBT activists, Higgs’ concern for Canadian children is shared by the majority of Canadians. According to a recent poll, most Canadians agree with Higgs on the importance of teachers keeping parents informed about their children’s gender identification and pronoun use in schools.
Higgs’ decision to respect parents’ authority over their children was harshly condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Right now, trans kids in New Brunswick are being told they don’t have the right to be their true selves, that they need to ask permission,” Trudeau claimed.
However, members of the PC party have spoken out in defense of Higgs, revealing that his is supported by the “silent majority” of the party.
“We are all in support of the premier,” Moncton Southwest riding president Sherry MacEachren declared. “From what I could tell, there was overwhelming support for the premier from the riding associations.”
While the initial review failed, pro-LGBT party members are hoping to receive sufficient letters by later this month.
Pro-family activists are urging Canadians to contact their PC leaders in defense of children and in support of Higgs.
Contact information for respectful communication:
Minister Bill Hogan: [email protected] (506) 277-6020
MLA Richard Aimes: [email protected] (506) 575-6088
MLA Daniel Allain: [email protected] (506) 856-3228
MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason: [email protected] (506) 755-2810
MLA Kris Austin: [email protected] (506) 327-7014
MLA Kathy Bockus: [email protected] (506) 466-1449
MLA Jeff Carr: [email protected] (506) 368-2938
MLA Michelle Conroy: [email protected] (506) 627-1684
MLA Gary Crossman: [email protected] (506) 832-5700
MLA Ryan Cullins: [email protected] (506) 444-3952
MLA Mike Dawson: [email protected] (506) 843-2978
MLA Arlene Dunn: [email protected] (506) 643-6138
MLA Bruce Fitch: [email protected] (506) 869-6117
MLA Hugh John Alexander (Ted) Flemming: [email protected] (506) 848-5440
MLA Jill Green: [email protected] (506) 444-4401
MLA Trevor Holder: [email protected] (506) 657-2335
MLA Mike Holland: [email protected] (506) 856-4961
MLA Margaret Johnson: [email protected] (506) 276-4045
MLA Bill Oliver: [email protected] (506) 738-6586
MLA Glen Savoie: [email protected] (506) 658-6333
MLA Réjean Savoie: [email protected] (506) 773-3219
MLA Tammy Scott-Wallace: [email protected] (506) 567-4689
MLA Dorothy Shephard: [email protected] (506) 643-2900
MLA Ernie Steeves: [email protected] (506) 383-2164
MLA Greg Turner: [email protected] (506) 856-3808
MLA Ross Wetmore: [email protected] (506) 488-3577
MLA Mary Wilson: [email protected] (506) 357-1177
MLA Sherry Wilson: [email protected] (506) 382-6567