Nearly half of Canadians say they support their province using the notwithstanding clause to ensure that schools tell parents if their child wishes to use a different name or pronoun, a new poll suggests, and more people support that idea than oppose it.
New data also suggest a majority of Canadians believe teachers should have to notify parents of such changes. Just under half said that should be the case even if a child tells their teacher they don’t feel safe informing their parents.
Polling firm Leger recently asked Canadians a series of questions regarding the ongoing debate around “parental rights.”
The phrase, which refers to parents’ desire to be involved in the decisions of their children and of schools, has gained increasing traction in Canada over the past year.
Many people who use the term say they are concerned about lessons kids are learning on the topics of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Those pushing the issue have also been critical of policies designed to make transgender and nonbinary students feel more welcome in classrooms, as well as activities like raising the rainbow Pride flag at schools.
According to the new results from Leger, Canadians are divided on whether sexual orientation and gender identity should be discussed in schools at all.
Just over half of respondents, or 54 per cent, agreed that these are important topics kids need to be aware of, and schools need to discuss them.
The other 46 per cent said their views were more aligned with a statement saying such topics shouldn’t be discussed in school, and should only be left to parents to address with their children.
Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of Leger, said what is noteworthy is the fact that Canadians appear more divided on this issue than on other topics taught in schools, such as racism and climate change.
“Is there a form of unease that these things are discussed in schools?” he asked.
Nearly half, or 48 per cent, of respondents said sexual orientation should be discussed in classrooms across the country, while 42 per cent said gender identity should be discussed.
But there was far more support for the discussion of alcohol and drugs, at 82 per cent; racism, at 80 per cent; climate change, at 78 per cent; and truth and reconciliation, at 74 per cent.
A total of 1,518 Canadians participated in the web survey from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.
On the issue of whether schools should notify parents if their child wants to use a different pronoun, the survey suggests Canadians have drawn a clearer line.
Leger found that 63 per cent of respondents expressed support for a school having to inform a child’s parents if they wish to be referred to by a different pronoun or gender. Only 22 per cent said that should not be required.
Bourque noted that the level of support dropped when respondents were asked to think about the consequences to a child.
When asked whether teachers should be obligated to notify parents that their child is using a different name or pronoun even when the child tells the teacher they don’t feel safe informing their parents, 45 per cent of respondents said yes, compared to 35 per cent who said no. Another 20 per cent of respondents said they were unsure.
Bourque said the findings suggest that while Canadians clearly support the call for “parental rights,” that support is “not at any cost.”
Both New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have introduced policies that make it a rule for schools to seek parental consent if a student younger than 16 wants to be called by a different name or pronoun – a change that has raised concerns from teachers’ unions and child advocates, who say it could harm some kids.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced plans to invoke the notwithstanding clause to keep the change in place after a judge granted an injunction last month.
The court challenge had been mounted by Egale Canada, an organization that promotes LGBTQ2S+ rights and argued the case on behalf of the UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity at the University of Regina.
The notwithstanding clause is a provision in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allows federal, provincial and territorial governments to pass laws that override certain Charter rights for up to five years.
At least 46 per cent of the respondents surveyed said they would support their province using the notwithstanding clause to ensure schools have to inform parents if their child wants to be called a new name or pronoun.
Another 31 per cent said they are opposed to such a move, while 22 per cent said they did not know.
“The results cannot be ignored,” said Bourque.
Support for the move was not markedly higher with respondents in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies.
The poll also asked if people would support the use of the notwithstanding clause to ban discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools altogether.
On that question, 40 per cent opposed the use of the clause, while 37 per cent supported it and 24 per cent said they didn’t know.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2023.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
