Regina Public Schools sham consultation betrays parents, calls them ‘caregivers’
As a mother of six, with four children in Regina Public Schools, I’ve always believed schools should defer to parents when it comes to making decisions on behalf of our kids.
But the Regina Public School Division’s so-called “consultation” on Administrative Procedure #354, regarding washroom and change room accessibility, has shattered that trust.
This grotesque attempt to engage parents isn’t consultation, it’s coercion, and the Saskatchewan government must step in to fire this rogue board.
The board’s letter, sent to grades 9-12 students, caregivers, and employees, starts with a slap in the face. They call us “caregivers,” not parents.
Parents are not part-time nannies, we are mothers and fathers with a sacred role in our children’s lives. By erasing the word “parent,” Regina Public Schools signals their contempt for our authority, reducing us to mere placeholders in their radical agenda.
It’s a deliberate move to undermine our voice before we even speak. Their consultation process is a farce designed to silence dissent.
To provide feedback on AP #354, parents must submit their full names, relationship to the division, and school location. Anonymous responses are rejected outright. Why? So the board can identify and target parents like me who oppose their fixation on gender ideology, or worse, identify and mistreat our children.
This isn’t engagement, it’s intimidation. I shouldn’t have to risk public shaming by Regina Public School employees to protect my kids from policies I know are harming them.
The board’s claim of seeking “legitimate” feedback is a lie. It’s a loyalty test to enforce compliance.
Regina Public Schools hides behind the Canadian and Saskatchewan Human Rights Codes, wielding them like a weapon to push their radical gender theory.
They warn that feedback “suggesting infringement of legislated human rights” will be ignored. Translation: if we question their “gender-neutral” washroom push, we're bigots whose voice doesn’t deserve a count.
But they conveniently ignore the Human Right of Family Status — a protected ground that guarantees a parent's right to guide their own children’s upbringing.
By forcing gender ideology on other people's children, they’re trampling our role as parents. That’s a violation of our rights, plain and simple.
Worse, AP #354 sacrifices the sex-based rights of biological girls, like the trampled sex-based rights of the girls of Balgonie, Saskatchewan. Our daughters deserve safe, single-sex washrooms and change rooms, but the board’s “inclusive” design erases those protections in the name of ideology.
Our daughters shouldn’t have to compromise their privacy and safety to accommodate the board’s activism. Regina Public Schools is choosing dogma over the well-being of female students, and it’s beyond infuriating.
The consultation window is between April 11 and 30, over Easter, and a measly 19 days, a clear rush to avoid real scrutiny. And their claim of “unanimous” support for past gender policies, like AP #353, reeks of groupthink, not leadership. This board isn’t serving families. They’re serving their own demented ideological crusade.
Regina Public Schools has betrayed parents. They’ve demoted us, threatened us, and dismissed our rights while preaching “equity.” As a mother, and an expert as Premier Scott Moe has declared, I’m done with their gatekeeping and gaslighting.
Our children’s safety, privacy, and upbringing are non-negotiable. The Saskatchewan government must act decisively: fire this board. They’ve lost the trust of parents and have no business overseeing our schools.
Parents across Saskatchewan should join the fight to hold this board accountable.
Our kids deserve better than a radical activist clique masquerading as educators. It’s time to take our schools back.
Lise Merle is a mother of six and a concerned parent of four children in Regina Public Schools.
Contact your School Board Trustee and join the fight to hold this board accountable.
Ted Jaleta - Subdivision 1
Tracey McMurchy - Subdivision 2
Adam Hicks - Subdivision 3 (Chairperson)
Cindy Anderson - Subdivision 4
Sarah Cummings Truszkowski - Subdivision 5
Brandon-Shea Mutala - Subdivision 6
Lacey Weekes - Subdivision 7 (Vice-Chairperson)
Mark Haarmann, Director of Education/CEO