Bill 46 would turn anglophone district education councils into advisory bodies with no direct decision-making power.

Anderson-Mason, the MLA for Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West, said in the legislature the bill will "remove debate and discourse at the local level. It eliminates the checks and balances that are there to protect our citizens, our families, our children."

George Daley, for deputy minister of education, said the controversial review of Policy 713 is an example of what will happen more often if anglophone district education councils are neutered. (CBC)

The two PC MLAs made their move following an email from former anglophone deputy minister of education George Daley to the eight Tories who issued a statement last week, complaining of a lack of transparency and process on the Policy 713 review.

Daley was fired last fall not long after then-education minister Dominic Cardy quit over proposed changes to French immersion.

"What I witnessed while in the deputy role left me feeling that our NB democracy had truly been hijacked over the last three years," Daley wrote to the eight MLAs.

"Your efforts last week have given me some glimmer of hope."

The vote to advance Bill 46 came after MLAs from all parties gathered outside the legislature at noon for the raising of the Pride flag, an event proposed by the Liberals. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

In his email, obtained by CBC News, Daley complained of "the continual chaos" he said Premier Blaine Higgs was inflicting on the anglophone school system.

He said the controversial review of Policy 713, which sets minimum standards for schools to provide safe and inclusive learning spaces for LGBTQ students, is an example of what will happen more often if Bill 46 passes and anglophone district education councils are neutered.

"There is nothing in my educational career that I think will have a worse effect on our system than this currently proposed model," Daley wrote.

"Please continue to be courageous whether it is on this bill or with other significant decisions," he said.

Higgs told reporters the dissenting votes by Wetmore and Anderson-Mason were "concerning," but said he was happy the bill advanced to a different committee process for "a good open discussion" this week.

The bill is one of nine subject to a PC motion limiting debate time.

That motion will come up for a vote on Thursday, with approval effectively cutting off further discussion of Bill 46 and eight others so the house can adjourn for the summer on Friday.

But Higgs said he was prepared to have the legislature sit next week if the education bill needs more time.

"I'm prepared to stay in the House and if the questions aren't all answered, we'll just continue the House," he said.

The premier says the bill is aiming at improving the governance of the anglophone education system to produce improved performance.

"Something has to be different. There has to be a step change in how we find better results," he said.

Pride flag raised

The vote to advance Bill 46 came after MLAs from all parties gathered outside the legislature at noon for the raising of the Pride flag.

Several PC MLAs attended, including Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan.

He said his presence was important in light of the debate over Policy 713 that has been unfolding over the last five weeks. 

"I think absolutely it's important for me to be here so that people understand that I support diversity, I support the LGBTQ+ community, and what we're doing has nothing to do with trying to roll back anyone's rights," he said.

"I respect them. I think we need to ensure they feel safe and protected."

Gail Costello, of Pride in Education, and Social Development Minister Dorothy Shepherd at the raising of the Pride flag. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

The government's changes to the policy announced last week include ending an obligation for teachers to respect a student's choice of name and pronouns without parental notification if they're younger than 16.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt said she has decided to devote her party's debate time on Thursday to a motion calling on the government to undo the changes, in the hope some PC MLAs will support it.

The motion is not binding and if passed would not change the policy.

Local Government Minister Daniel Allain, one of the eight PCs who issued the dissenting statement last week, said he has not decided yet how he'll vote on the Liberal motion. 

"It's a social discussion that's dividing New Brunswickers, and I'm going to talk to my colleagues all this week and see where it goes. So we'll see what happens."

Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard, another dissenter, spent several minutes at the flag raising talking to Pride in Education co-chair Gail Costello.

Shepherd gave Costello a supportive tap on the forearm as they wrapped up their conversation.

Higgs actually gave the rebels some latitude on both of those motions when he said last week he would not declare them confidence measures.

If they were confidence votes, Higgs would have to call an election if he lost either vote.

By declaring they're not, Higgs both takes pressure off himself and gives the PC rebels more leeway to vote against him without any risk of consequences.

If Higgs were to somehow lose a confidence vote, former education minister Dominic Cardy has argued that Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy could reject an election call and offer another PC MLA the chance to form a government and win the confidence of the house.

But that rarely happens in Canada. Governing parties that select new leaders in the middle of a mandate do so through their party's rules on leadership races and reviews, not through a legislative vote.

Holt won't commit to Policy 713 motion this week

The Liberals, meanwhile, have their own challenges figuring out the conventions and precedents they might use to paint Higgs into a corner.

Leader Susan Holt declared last Friday that her party is "trying to use every tool in our toolkit to get this policy into the legislature."

But Holt said her party would not itself introduce a non-confidence motion in the hopes of getting the PC rebels to support it.

"It's not up to us to make the government fall," she said, claiming — incorrectly — that a non-confidence motion introduced by the opposition would not be binding.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs raised the idea of an election when asked Thursday whether he might be forced to step down when the PC MLAs refused to take their seats. (CBC)

In fact, an opposition motion of no confidence is what led to the defeat of the Joe Clark government in 1979.

More recently in New Brunswick, the Gallant government was defeated in 2018 after the opposition, led by Higgs, inserted a non-confidence amendment into a throne speech motion.

"Lots to figure out here," Holt said, when that bit of history was pointed out on Friday.

The Liberal leader also would not commit to even bringing her party's Policy 713 motion up for a vote this week.

The opposition parties have limited time to set the agenda on Thursday afternoons, and Holt said her party might bring one of its other bills or motions to the floor instead.

"It remains to be seen what happens between now and then," she said.

8 could choose to become independent

There is one procedural move that, if the eight PC rebels used it, would likely bring things to a head.

If the Tories quit their party caucus to sit as independents, they'd deprive Higgs of the votes to pass several bills that have yet to win final approval.

They'd be in a position to make demands.

But if they were that bold, they would probably have made that move already.

And once the house adjourns for the summer, that opportunity is gone until October.

The PC diffidence and Holt's hesitations suggest it could be an inconclusive week.

No one appears able or willing to twist the knife — if they even know where to find one.