The Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, Dr. Kris Wells, says the Alberta governments new proposed policies around youth gender identity and access to gender-affirming healthcare are like a “shock grenade.”
“There are so many pieces and fragments that you can't keep track of them all,” said Wells, a St. Albert resident and MacEwan University professor.
“These announcements are a poison pill that will have devastating consequences not only on the lives of vulnerable transgender people, but on the entire 2SLGBTQI+ community.”
The policies, Premier Danielle Smith announced via a seven-minute video posted on social media on Wednesday afternoon, range from parental consent and notification being required for youth 15 and under to have their preferred pronouns and name be used in the school system, to banning gender-affirming top surgery for all Albertans under the age of 18.
Other policies include banning access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers for those under 15, while youth who are 16 or 17 may still access to those medications only with parental consent and physician and psychologist approval; barring transgender girls and women from competing in girl's and women's sports; requiring all third-party produced materials regarding these subjects to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education before being taught in schools; and requiring parents to opt-in their children whenever a school lesson will feature subject matter related to gender identity, sexuality, or sexual orientation.
“Not only are these policies discriminatory, they are designed to silence and erase 2SLGBTQI+ lives from the public sphere,” Wells said. “Make no mistake, all of these policies will cost the lives of vulnerable children, that's what's at stake here.”
“Denying them access to life-saving care, sending them to school in unsupportive and hostile environments, denying them access to education about their own identities [and] community; that's why this is all carefully designed to erase to 2SLGBTQI+ identities.”
Smith told media on Thursday afternoon that the slate of new policies won't be implemented until the fall, once the government figures out exactly how each policy will be implemented.
During the press conference, Smith said the policies are being implemented in order to preserve “the choices children have on their gender identity until they are mature enough to make them.”
“We know that we have to preserve the rights of kids to be able to make decisions as adults,” Smith said. “We wanted to make sure that we struck the right balance so that kids are not making irreversible decisions when they may not be mature enough to make those decisions.”
“We're aiming to be supportive of children's rights. We want to make sure that children do not prematurely make decisions that are going to be irreversible, and affect their ability to have sex and affect their ability to have children.”
The Alberta Medical Association's pediatrics section released a statement on Thursday evening that urges the provincial government to reconsider these policies.
“Children and youth have the right to the appropriate medical care, at the appropriate time, and this should not be denied to them,” the statement reads.
“The mental health of these children and youth will be markedly worse when denied care.”
