Higgs briefed on gender-identity policy 4 years before he made it an issue in May

When starting the debate last spring over how New Brunswick schools should deal with gender identity, Premier Blaine Higgs said he wanted to review the relevant policy — Policy 713 — because it gave parents no role, there was no discussion of it, and even he did not know the details.

But records obtained by CBC News show the premier was sent a detailed brief about the policy as far back as 2019, say parents were consulted from the start, and a new draft support document offered guidance to educators on family involvement and privacy. 

The records show Higgs had an eye on the policy long before the news it was under review prompted protests by students, a revolt by six Progressive Conservative MLAs, policy changes in Saskatchewan and court challenges in both provinces.

The New Brunswick government has now changed Policy 713 to make it mandatory to get parental consent before teachers can verbally use a child's chosen name and pronoun if the child is under 16. The original policy said staff should verbally respect students' wishes about pronouns, and only made parental consent mandatory for changing official records of children under 16.

Some applauded the changes, saying they restored parental rights. Critics said the revised policy ignores children's human and charter rights. School psychologists and medical experts have also said it could put kids in danger.

Documents show the government officially began developing Policy 713 in 2018.

Policy development followed 'numerous' requests

The briefing note from October 2019, said the policy was developed because research showed LGBTQ students reported being "victims of physical, verbal or sexual harassment and assault at school on a daily basis."

"This is evident in the public school system in New Brunswick," said the note, which CBC obtained through a right to information request.

The department had received "numerous" requests for a provincial policy from district education councils, the former police chief of Fredericton, the University of New Brunswick faculty of nursing, school personnel, LGBTQ students and their families.

"This is a policy that is critical to addressing the needs of an extremely vulnerable student population," said the note.

Higgs has said he didn't know "the particular content" of Policy 713 until this year. He said "parents didn't know anything about it, and there wasn't any discussion about it."

But the records suggest there had been interest.

"Significant public interest has been generated around this policy, and pressure is increasing for its release," said the 2019 briefing note, written by an Education Department official.

The note also listed which groups the department worked with throughout development: all seven school districts, parent school support committees, or PSSCs, gender and sexuality alliances, the Human Rights Commission, the child and youth advocate, Pride in Education, parents and youth.

Dominic Cardy was the education minister at the time. He said the Premier's Office confirmed to him that Higgs received the note.

CBC requested a sit-down interview with Higgs to walk through the details in the documents. In response, Higgs sent a three-sentence statement saying his position on the policy has not changed.

"There's obvious strong support across the country to understand what children are being taught in school as well as the desire to ensure parents have a role to play in raising their kids," Higgs wrote. "We continue to support parents' ability to do so and have always been dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming environment where all children are free to be themselves."

'You knew that I didn't like it'

Cardy, now an independent MLA, quit the cabinet in 2022, citing the premier's unilateral decision-making and "dislike" for evidence.

The 2019 briefing note was sent to Higgs for information purposes before Cardy signed Policy 713.

Cardy said he delayed signing the policy until 2020 because he typically would get some kind of response but, in this case, didn't hear anything concrete from Higgs, 

"Except for repeated vague and worryingly misinformed questions around the sex education curriculum," Cardy said in an interview.

In August 2020, Higgs called an early election. Cardy said he signed the policy that day as part of "clearing my desk." It went into effect immediately.

"I didn't have any issues with it and it was in my prerogative to sign. So I did."

But once re-elected, Higgs reacted negatively to the fact the policy was in place, Cardy said.

"He said, 'You knew that I didn't like it.' I said that 'Premier, I didn't. You never talked to me about it. And it's my responsibility to sign regulations.'"

A year later, in the fall of 2021, the Premier's Office added Policy 713 to the agenda for a caucus meeting. It was presented to members, who didn't raise concerns, Cardy said.

Policy wasn't 'a big issue,' Hogan tells premier in 2022

Even Bill Hogan, a former principal, seemed to have no immediate concerns about it.

Emails obtained by CBC show Higgs emailed Hogan about the policy in March 2022, seven months before Hogan became minister of education. 

Higgs attached the policy and wrote: "This is the actual education policy 713. Have you seen it before? I would like to get your thoughts on some of the specifics in implementation."

Within minutes, Hogan replied, saying: "Yes I have seen this policy, we might have even had an in service on it. It wasn't a big issue in my school because we were very inclusive. There was a lot of controversy around the gay/straight alliance groups at the time."

Hogan said he "would be pleased to discuss this in more detail." 

In response to a request for an interview with Hogan, an Education Department spokesperson said the minister would not be commenting because the policy changes are being challenged in court.

In spring 2022, when Cardy was still education minister, then-deputy minister George Daley got work under way on a supplement to the policy, called the Gender Support Guide.

The reason for the guide was later described in an email from an education official to Ryan Donaghy, the current deputy minister of education.

The guide was developed because the original Policy 713 said if it is not possible to obtain parental consent for use of a child's preferred name and pronouns in official records, "a plan will be put in place to support the student in managing the use of their preferred name and pronouns in the learning environment."

Officials present 'Gender Support Guide' just before review began

In May of this year, Higgs told reporters the original Policy 713 gave parents "no role." 

"We have parents for a reason, don't we? I mean, parents have been responsible to raise their kids and be responsible for the kids, and to suggest that we keep information from them, in our public school system. Purposely, to keep parents in the dark? I mean, it just seems like why would we in a public system condone that?"

The final version of the guide has not been released. But a draft version obtained by CBC News says in its introductory paragraph: "The student, school personnel, and families will develop this document together."

It later states, "Educators have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. Student safety is of the utmost importance and requires that each student be consulted to determine with whom they wish to share their gender identity."

The guide also informs teachers and staff that a change in pronouns is not set in stone.

"It is expected and welcomed that the needs and wants of a student will change over time," the guide says. "As such, it is important to continue to consult with the student and update accordingly."

The department held consultations for over a year with school psychologists, counsellors and LGBTQ education experts to develop the guide.

Departmental staff presented the guide early in 2023 to an assistant deputy education minister and to Donaghy, the deputy minister, as well as to anglophone school district superintendents. The email only addressed the anglophone side. 

The guide was presented to Hogan on Feb. 14.

According to the email by Donaghy, briefing notes were then prepared for Hogan to meet with Higgs about the issue of "legal responsibility" and LGBTQ-inclusive education. 

"Nothing moved with this file since," Donaghy wrote in an email after the review started April 21.

'It will change/be amended'

By June, Policy 713 had become a public issue for Higgs. In a speech in the legislature on June 15, he said it was important to have a "balanced discussion" about maintaining the rights of parents.

"That's what this is about — to have parents involved in the children's upbringing."  

Hogan said the goal of his review was to talk about different issues in Policy 713.

"We want to ensure that you know there is a gender-neutral washroom available in schools," he said. 

"We want to talk about the rights of female students and whether or not they're comfortable going into a washroom with a biological male. You know, we want to talk about the rights of parents … I want to meet with PSSCs. I want to hear from them."

However, an email exchange between Education Department staff suggests the outcome of any review was, either in whole or in part, pre-determined. 

An April 20 email from Donaghy to other officials suggests changes were already planned, and for this reason the province wouldn't be making a presentation about Policy 713 to the New Brunswick Teachers' Association as had been expected.

"The path forward, if agreed, we will let the NBTA know we will be undertaking amendments to Policy 713 and will consult with them in due course as our policy development usually follows," Donaghy said in the email.

"'Why would we present a policy for which we inform them it will change/be amended?'" 

The New Brunswick Teachers' Association was preparing to hold an information session about Policy 713 on May 5.

That day, several people picketed the event, protesting LGBTQ education in general — some holding signs reading "perverts in education," others talking about debunked conspiracy theories about kitty litter boxes in school.

Soon after, the province sent out a statement saying it had nothing to do with the event organized by the NBTA.

In response, the NBTA sent out a statement condemning the province for not supporting teachers or addressing misinformation.

A few days later, Pride in Education revealed the province was reviewing Policy 713 and had rescinded the funding needed for the organization to train teachers in how to implement the policy. 

That's when the review underway became public knowledge.

In his April 20 email, forwarded to Higgs, Donaghy said any changes to the education policy would go through the Premier's Office first.

"We will bring forward potential amendments to [the Premier's Office] before anything leaves this building to ensure we move in an intended direction," Donaghy said in the email.

Higgs replied: "This looks good and a reasonable request and path forward."