The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) says it’s intervening in a legal dispute over Saskatchewan’s controversial pronoun laws to prevent the “abuse” of the notwithstanding clause.

The civil rights advocate was one of 11 parties approved to make arguments in a constitutional battle over Saskatchewan’s Parents Bill of Rights following a fiat from the appeal court on Friday.

Saskatchewan’s law requires consent for students under the age of 16 to change their names or pronouns while in school, puts broad restrictions on sexual health education and bars sexual assault centres from presenting in school.

The University of Regina’s UR Pride launched a legal challenge against the rules that began as a Ministry of Education policy in August 2023 before being introduced as a law, with the province invoking the notwithstanding clause to protect it from a potential court order.