Alberta Legislature Wraps Up Fall Session With Anti-Trans Bills
Three right wing culture war bills to become law next year.
The fall 2024 session of the Alberta legislature has concluded with the passing of three bills targeting the rights of trans people.
Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party has set its sights on gender affirming surgery, pronoun choice for students and participation for trans women in sport with newly passed legislation expected to take effect in the fall of 2025.
Despite past claims of LGBTQ2SA+ advocacy, Smith’s government so far has pushed through a rapid agenda that will advance social conservative cultural goals in education, health care and sports in the coming year.
The set of bills are in line with the will of party membership, which passed several resolutions at the party’s November annual general meeting calling for regressive policies on gender identity and diversity.
Political Analyst Keith Brownsey, who specializes in Alberta politics at Mount Royal University, says the commitment to culture war issues is an effort to appease the UCP party base.
“Transgender people are 0.25% of the population, yet governments like the Smith government have a focus on transgender people like they’re a threat to civilization,” Brownsey told PressProgress. “Here she’s simply playing to a very right-wing religious base.”
Changes are coming to sexual education and how gender identity is dealt with in schools. Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, will require teachers to report pronoun changes should a student identify as transgender.
The legislation will also potentially restrict third party instructional materials, including already-vetted materials Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), which will be subject to approval from the Alberta Government.
Smith Government’s Anti SOGI Culture War Bill Coming Soon to Alberta Schools
Teachers, advocates speak out against changes to sex-ed, pronoun policy in Alberta schoolshttps://t.co/LahOqaZHg1 #ableg #abpoli
— PressProgress (@pressprogress) November 28, 2024
The bill is getting pushback from parents, school boards and teacher organizations.
Health care will also be affected, prompting more pushback and possible legal challenges from advocates.
Sweeping reforms are expected through Bill 22, The Health Statutes Amendment Act. The bill amounts to a restructuring of the Alberta health care system that will break Alberta Health Services up into four parts, each reporting to the health ministry. The new sectors are primary care, acute care, continuing care and mental health and addiction.
“I’m glad we have a Premier that thinks she knows better than the medical community,” Brownsey said. “It’s a bit disturbing that our government doesn’t run on rationality. Instead of what medical doctors say, who actually know what they’re doing, this government just wants to meddle. It’s absolutely bizarre.”
Included in the bill is a prohibition for doctors, making them unable to prescribe gender-affirming treatment such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers to patients under 16. This will include top and bottom surgery.
Fae Johnstone, Director of the advocacy group Queer Momentum says the new rules are an example of government overreach.
“There’s a hypocrisy underneath this where on one hand Premier Smith says she wants to support the role of parents, then on the other hand she’s putting her government’s decision-making above the parent. The parents might have to leave the province,” Johnstone told PressProgress.
“They’re not targeting the care, but on the trans young folk’s ability to access that care. These interventions are provided in other circumstances and it’s fine, but it’s the fact that the patients happen to be trans that the government is taking an issue with.”
Sports were also on the agenda this session, with Bill 29 which will limit transgender participation in amateur sports. Under the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, school boards, universities, and provincial sports organizations will be obligated to prevent trans women from participation in women’s leagues.
The bill has been denounced as discriminatory, with advocacy organizations Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation threatening legal challenge.
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