Heather Kuttai, a commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, says in a letter that she is resigning immediately because of the province's proposed legislation that requires parental permission if a child wants to change their name or pronoun at school. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks to the media at the Saskatchewan legislature in Regina, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
REGINA – A commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission has resigned over the provincial government’s proposed pronoun legislation.
Heather Kuttai says in a letter that the bill requiring parental consent if children under 16 want to change their names and pronouns at school is an attack on the rights of transgender and gender-diverse children.
Kuttai, adding she has a transgender son, says children’s rights must take precedence over parental obligations.
She says if the province passes the legislation with the notwithstanding clause, Saskatchewan will no longer be a place for all children.
Kuttai is one of Saskatchewan’s six human rights commissioners and says her resignation is effective immediately.
The province’s justice minister says she’s sorry to hear of the resignation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2023.
