Alberta’s premier announced plans for the introduction of a new bill Thursday, a piece of legislation that would scuttle a private member’s bill from the Liberals.

Premier Jim Prentice announced a new bill, dubbed the Act to Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to Protect our Children would be brought forward by the government.

Prentice said his bill would allow students who are not allowed to form gay-straight alliances in schools, to appeal that decision.

“We are proposing legislation that would allow students to make such a request, and then the request will ultimately be decided on appeal at a board level,” Prentice said.

The new legislation counters Bill 202 – a private member’s bill sponsored by Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman – that was meant to protect LGBTQ students from bullying.

Blakeman said Thursday that the new bill does nothing to protect those rights.

“I think it gives all of us a really clear picture of what this is really about, and that is it’s the ability to continue to discriminate against people with a different sexual orientation or gender identity,” Blakeman said.

The new legislation is in the drafting stage, and will be introduced later this session.