Premier Moe and his government a 'threat' to 2SLGBTQ+ workers: CUPE Sask. president

The president of the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says Premier Scott Moe and his government are a threat to 2SLGBTQ+ people in the province.

Kent Peterson is the first openly gay president of CUPE Saskatchewan, which represents about 31,000 members who work in health care, education and municipal sectors across the province.

"I hope my election as president will make it just a little bit easier for a future queer worker to see themselves in leadership roles in their union," he wrote in a statement released Tuesday.

In the statement, Peterson says Moe is "a dangerous threat" to the worker rights, human rights, and economic security in Saskatchewan.

He says there has been an increase in anti-2SLGBTQ+ laws and policies, as well as hate-based attacks on queer people in the province and across the country. 

In an interview with CBC News, Peterson said Moe and his predecessors who have served as leaders of the Saskatchewan Party have a "disgraceful record on LGBTQ rights and human rights."

The government's use of the notwithstanding clause to shield its school pronoun policy from court challenges, Peterson says, has put vulnerable young people at high risk.

He also cited an example of former premier Brad Wall's proposed legislation allowing commissioners to recuse themselves from performing same-sex marriages for religious reasons.

"He tried to pass that law and it was challenged and he lost," he said. 

NDP Opposition Leader Carla Beck says there are longstanding concerns about labour legislation in the province. 

"I assume the concerns stem from the emergency session on the pronounce debate, and the use of the notwithstanding clause twice," she said, addressing Peterson's statement at the legislature Wednesday.

Peterson says the Saskatchewan Party government has been lobbied for years to pass legislation that allows schools the right to form gender and sexuality alliances — "safe" spaces for young people in schools to access resources and socialize with other students in similar situations.

"Our provincial government has had endless opportunities, now for 16 to 17, years to pass a legislation like that and they have refused to do so," he said.

Instead, he says, the government fired experts on the board of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and replaced them with under-qualified people who are supporters of the current government.

"These are activists that organized for the Sask. Party and work to elect the Sask. Party, who donate to the Sask. Party," he said. "You're telling me that those also happen to be the most qualified people in the province to do this work?"

With the upcoming provincial election, Peterson is asking people to vote Moe and the Saskatchewan Party out, and elect progressive candidates who will protect human rights and worker rights.

"As long as it's not Scott Moe, it's going to get better," he said. 

At CUPE Saskatchewan's 2024 convention held on March 15, union members formally endorsed Beck and the Saskatchewan NDP for the next election.

"Saskatchewan people need to come together to elect leaders like Carla Beck and other progressive politicians that will fight for the working people of this province," Peterson said at the event.

In 2022, Peterson was the campaign chair for the Saskatchewan NDP and helped run Beck's leadership campaign.

In a statement, Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre said she is disappointed that CUPE released such a "partisan, inflammatory" press release. She said the statement made by Peterson questions the qualifications of new Saskatchewan human rights commissioners. 

"Our Government amended pay discrimination provisions under the Saskatchewan Employment Act, which established that an employer could not pay one employee a different rate of pay on the basis of any prohibited ground as identified under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, 2018, including a member of the LGBTQ community," the statement said. 

Eyre said prior to this amendment, the pay discrimination provision applied only to female employees.