Alberta premier stands ground on new policies restricting transgender youth
Alberta’s government is proposing a host of policy changes that will restrict the rights and privacy of transgender and 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the province.
Premier Danielle Smith held a press conference Thursday afternoon to outline the proposed changes involving youth privacy in schools, sex education, sports, and access to healthcare.
Under the changes, the Alberta government will not allow for hormonal treatment, puberty blockers, or gender-affirming surgery for any children 15 years of age and under, except for those already receiving treatment. The province also will ban top and bottom surgeries for those 17 years of age or younger.
Parents will need to give permission before students 15 and under can change their name or pronouns at school, with parents being notified for students aged 16 and 17. It will also be required for parents to give permission for children to take part in lessons about sexual health, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
“For children who identify as transgender, I want you to know that these policies are being implemented in order to protect the choices you have regarding altering your physical body until after you’ve grown mature enough to make such choices safely and with a full understanding of what that means for the rest of your life,” Smith stated.
Additionally, any third-party instruction materials for these lessons will now need to be approved by the Minister of Education before they reach the classroom.
On top of these changes, the province says it will work with sports agencies to prevent transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The province claims it will set up “women’s only” leagues and will work to expand co-ed or other gender-neutral divisions for athletic competitions so transgender women can participate in sports.
Smith added that the province would also work to bring one or more doctors to Alberta to help with adults seeking gender-affirming surgery. Currently, adult Albertans seeking surgeries for phalloplasty, metoidioplasty, or vaginoplasty have to travel to the Centre Metropolitain de Chirurgie in Montreal.
The announcement, released via social media ahead of today’s briefing, was met with swift backlash. In a press conference earlier today, Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley slammed the policies, saying they are “founded on misinformation and target vulnerable children.”
“While we anticipated policies and guidelines similar to those in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, Danielle Smith went well beyond those initiatives, expanding her attack to include the whole 2SLGBTQ+ community as well as any child at all who benefits from sex education,” said Notley.
“The decisions being made by Danielle Smith and her government are designed to further divide those who have been subjected to misinformation and conspiracy theories generated by a wing of the UCP.”
Notley continued, adding the policy “represents government interference” in what she believes should be a collaborative and private decision between parents, their children, and their doctor.
“Ironically, Danielle Smith has taken away their freedom of choice and at its core, Danielle Smith is playing dangerous politics with the lives of young people.”
A petition has since been started that calls for the Smith government to walk back its proposed policy changes on transgender rights.