FREDERICTON — Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, made the following statement today:
CCLA has been granted public interest standing by the Court of King’s Bench to challenge changes to New Brunswick’s gender identity policy in schools (Policy 713).
The Court concluded that CCLA’s challenge raises serious legal, human rights, and Charter issues that warrant judicial review. The Court observed that “gender identity is among the most ‘intimate and private’ matters” and that it would be unreasonable to expect young people affected by the changes to Policy 713 to assert their human rights independently. Without the CCLA, the Court determined, the legal challenge to Policy 713 would not be heard.
Public interest standing is the first step in the legal process. CCLA will work to bring this challenge to a hearing as quickly as possible because the changes to Policy 713 discriminate against and harm vulnerable young people.
CCLA is grateful for the assistance of pro bono counsel Benjamin Perryman and Sheree Conlon in this case.
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
media@ccla.org
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
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