Jason Schilling, President, Alberta Teachers' Association. (Supplied)

By Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press

Education

Pronoun policy threatens to jeopardize relationship with students; Alberta teachers

Nov 19, 2025 | 1:02 PM

The union representing Alberta teachers says the province’s school pronoun policy puts teachers in a bind and threatens to jeopardize their students’ trust.

Jason Schilling, head of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, says members worry they’ll be reprimanded for not reporting when children talk to them about their gender identity or sexuality.

His remarks come one day after the Alberta government invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to protect from court challenge a trio of laws affecting transgender youth and adults.

One law requires parental consent for children under 16 to change their name or pronoun at school and requires the province to approve teaching resources around gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.

Premier Danielle Smith’s government recently used the clause to end a weeks-long teachers strike a move the union plans to fight in court.

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The province has said the legislation is about supporting the parent-child relationship and greater transparency on teaching sensitive topics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025.