“Scott Moe is a dangerous threat to your worker rights, human rights, and economic security.”

Kent Peterson was recently elected president of the largest union in Saskatchewan. He is the first openly gay president of CUPE Saskatchewan and one of very few queer labour leaders in the province.

“The 31,000 members I represent know I will fight like hell for all workers, but visibility matters,” said Peterson, “I hope my election as president will make it just a little bit easier for a future queer worker to see themselves in leadership roles in their union. But we cannot be naïve – there are serious challenges that LGBTQ workers and their loved ones face in our province.”

Throughout the world, including in Canada and Saskatchewan, there has been an increase in the introduction of anti-LGBTQ laws and policies as well as hate-based attacks on queer people. While the Sask. Party has a long history of attacking LGBTQ people through their opposition to gay marriage and refusal to enshrine the right to form Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and other safer spaces in schools in law, we have seen a recent escalation in the province’s anti-LGBTQ agenda, including:

• Scott Moe replaced the professionals and experts on the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission board with several underqualified, partisan appointments.

• Last fall, in order to stave off political factions in his own party, Scott Moe launched an unprecedented attack on vulnerable youth in Saskatchewan schools, ultimately using the charter’s notwithstanding clause to suspend their charter rights and the charter rights of all education workers.

“Scott Moe and his Sask. Party government have a disgraceful record of attacking queer and trans workers, their families, and their communities. If you are an LGBTQ worker or a family member of an LGBTQ worker, you should know this: Scott Moe is a dangerous threat to your worker rights, human rights, and economic security,” said Peterson, “I encourage all voters with LGBTQ friends and family members to demonstrate allyship by voting out Scott Moe in this year’s election,” he added.

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