Sask. NDP MLA says his trans children were the target of Premier Moe’s proposed change room policy

Saskatchewan NDP MLA Jared Clarke tore into Premier Scott Moe during a speech in the legislature on Tuesday, criticizing Moe’s actions during the recent provincial election campaign and demanding an apology for a proposed policy Clarke believes was targeted at his children.

“[The Saskatchewan Party’s] legacy is attacking vulnerable kids. Prove me wrong,” Clarke said.

Clarke’s speech during question period Tuesday lasted roughly 13 minutes, much of it spent taking Moe to task for a policy the Saskatchewan Party leader touted during the campaign as his “first order of business” if re-elected. Moe said his government would establish a policy restricting students’ use of change rooms in schools to their sex assigned at birth.

Throughout the announcement Moe frequently used the term “biological boys,” which can be used to imply that transgender people are still their assigned sex at birth, despite their identity.

The policy was not part of the party’s election platform, which had been released just days before Moe’s announcement. It was immediately flagged by experts and families who said it would put transgender children at risk. 

Before Moe announced the policy, news outlet the Western Standard published a story featuring a parent saying their daughter had been uncomfortable in a change room with two other students who identified as female, but were assigned male at birth, at a south Saskatchewan school.

In his comments Tuesday, Clarke confirmed that the two children referenced in the Western Standard story were his. 

“The premier put a target on the back of my two 12-year-old kids,” Clarke said.

In response to a request for comment on Clarke’s speech, a government spokesperson provided a statement.

“The Minister of Education and then the Premier commented on this matter in response to questions from the media,” it said.

“At no point did they identify any students. The Premier and his campaign consistently stated that, ‘the identity of individual minors should never be part of any political debate.'”

Clarke said his children’s photos were circulated on social media and his family was targeted by hateful comments. 

The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation says teachers received degrading messages in response to the news in the following days.

Clarke described the proposed policy as part of the premier’s “legacy” and demanded an apology from Moe.

“Transgender kids are not scary. Transgender people are not scary. They are not people that we should be afraid of. They are people who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and love,” he said.

Moe backed off the policy after securing another majority government, saying it would be part of discussions held between elected school boards and Minister of Education Everett Hindley.