Over 100 gender diverse students and supporters protest at legislative building

Students hold demonstrations outside legislature WATCH: Demonstrations were held outside the legislative building to show disapproval of the pronoun bill. Wayne Mantyka reports.

Over 100 gender diverse students and their supporters marched on the legislative building for a province wide day of protest on Tuesday.

“I’m trans, and throughout the entire time I’ve been at school and gone by a different thing than my legal name, I’ve been outed by my teachers and put in dangerous situations,” student Toby Zagrodney told CTV News.

The students are concerned about legislation that will require parental consent for student pronoun or name changes in the classroom.

The controversial Parents Bill of Rights is currently being rushed through the legislative process.

Tuesday marked the fifth day of the legislature’s special session.

“Throughout the time I’ve been out of as a trans man – I’ve seen a lot of my friends lose safe places for them to stay and be kicked out of their homes,” said Rei Desnomie.

“[I’m] mostly here protesting for people who can’t because it’s unsafe for them and to support my friends who aren’t in safe places,” Ruby Russell explained.

The protesters were greeted by members of the Official Opposition who have been fighting the bill in the house.

“We can’t stop the vote from happening. What we can do is bring in the concerns from Saskatchewan people that they [the government] failed to listen to,” NDP MLA Matt Love explained on the steps of the legislature.

Premier Scott Moe focused on the government’s message, of the bill focusing on parents’ rights.

“The most responsive education system is only really going to be evident and present when parents are involved in their child’s life, and in their child’s education,” he told reporters.

“That’s what this policy is about. It’s about including parents in their child’s education in an effort to support that child.”

NDP Leader Carla Beck said she is concerned that Sask Party MLAs don’t seem to understand what is happening with the bill.

“How unprecedented it is to not only call an emergency session of the legislature or certainly unprecedented in the last quarter century – but also using not one but two notwithstanding clauses to do as the judge noted ‘irreparable to very vulnerable kids in this province,’” she said.

“It seems like they’re prepared to put their heads down and let this bill pass,” she said.

The Saskatchewan Legislature is meeting for an unprecedented 14 hours a day in an attempt to push the bill through the house this week, providing a consistent pronoun change policy in classrooms across Saskatchewan.