Rights group drops legal challenge after New Brunswick reverses trans student policy

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says it has dropped its legal challenge against the New Brunswick government because the province reversed a “harmful” policy on transgender students.

The rights group had gone to court over the previous government’s requirement that students under 16 receive parental consent before teachers could use their preferred first names and pronouns.

But the Progressive Conservatives’ policy was changed after the Liberals won the October provincial election and permitted young students  starting Jan. 1 to choose their own names and pronouns in school.

In a news release, the civil liberties association says it has discontinued its legal challenge because the government has provided a “safer, more affirming and inclusive” environment for New Brunswick students.

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The previous Tory government had said parents have the right to know whether their young children are questioning their gender identity, but critics had called the rule discriminatory.

In October 2023 the Saskatchewan government passed a law preventing children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns in school without parental consent. That law is being challenged in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.