Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to use the notwithstanding clause for the second time just in a span of one month, to shield a trio of anti-trans laws, is an alarming affront to the rights of trans and gender-diverse people.
Premier Smith has introduced Bill 9, which would invoke the notwithstanding clause to prevent courts from striking down three previously passed laws that endangers the rights and safety of transgender children and youth in Alberta.
Bill 9 would prevent courts from striking down recently passed laws that deny trans children and youth gender-affirming healthcare (Bill 26), the right to have gender affirming pronouns respected in school (Bill 27), and fair participation of trans women and girls in sports (Bill 29), even if courts find that the laws unjustifiably violate trans children and youths' rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This egregious new Bill will have a chilling effect on the protection of gender rights and sexual diversity in Alberta.
Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada
Bill 26 prohibits gender-affirming medical care for children and youth under the age of 16, even if their parents consent and their healthcare providers approve such care. For youth aged 16 or older, hormone therapy will now only be accessible with parental consent and the approval of healthcare professionals, limiting young people's access.
Bill 27 bans Alberta’s teachers from using trans and non-binary students’ preferred pronouns and gender-affirming names without the consent of their parents or guardians, where students are 15 or younger. For students who are 16 and 17, parents or guardians will be notified when a name or pronoun change is formally requested. In addition, parent or guardian consent is needed for students to participate in any formal classroom instruction involving gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual diversity. Further, all third-party resource materials related to gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality in the K-12 school system will need to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education.
The Bill also protects legislation (Bill 29) which bans trans students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports divisions, regardless of their gender identity, which further stigmatize trans youth and exclude them from safe and affirming spaces.
It is also deeply troubling that the government did not engage with existing evidence-based research and ignored 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities, advocates, community organizations and education and health care experts, choosing instead to advance policies that spread misinformation and cloak transphobia as “protecting children’s rights.”