Rallies held in Alberta protest new transgender healthcare policies

More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday in Edmonton, and the City Hall in Calgary to rally against the recent policies announced by the United Conservative party.

Another rally at the Alberta Legislative Building in Edmonton is set for Sunday.

In a seven-minute video posted to social media Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith outlined a series of transgender policies and guidelines ranging from restrictions on hormone therapy and surgery, to participation in sports.

“I strongly believe that we as a society must support and reach out with kindness and inclusion to those who identify as transgender and work to eliminate the discrimination that they often experience in their lives,” she said.

But the measures are being called “draconian” by some politicians and associations, with measures going further than what many had expected, leading to rallies in Alberta’s two largest cities.

“Danielle Smith is putting government policy in the middle of that protest and putting trans kids in danger,” said rally organizer Dr. Victoria Bucholtz earlier in the week, who teaches history and gender studies at the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University.

The rally saw many speakers, including former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who started by sharing his anxiety before hearing the news.

“When I saw that video posted, my hands were shaking when I went to hit play. And … for a moment, I heard that soft music and that soft lighting and that soft focus and those soft words. And when Premier Smith said in her first sentence that we must love and include trans people, for a moment, I let myself exhale. For a moment, I said, maybe we’re gonna be okay,” he said.

“I hate that I was wrong. I hate that what we heard for seven minutes was cruelty. What we heard for seven minutes was lies. What we heard for seven minutes was inhumane. What we heard for seven minutes was un-Albertan.”

Neshi then spoke of Smith’s promise that those parents who will not accept or will abuse their trans children will face child protection laws.

“Let me tell you what that means. What that means is ‘We’ll deal with y’all later.’ Later, after you’ve been beaten up. Later, after you’ve been kicked out of your house. Later, after you’ve been murdered. Later, after you’ve self-harmed. Later, after you died by suicide,” he said to the crowd at City Hall.

“Later is not good enough.”

“We protect everyone. We protect every kid and we protect them right now.”

Nenshi went on to share the openness of the community, and the support from those around the transgender community, but also made a call to action.

He told the crowd to call their MLAs, and speak on the phone for five minutes, as he says he knows a lot of UCP MLAs who are “good decent human beings, who are public servants who want what’s best for every single one of you.”

A member of the crowd then shouted, “Where are they?”

Nenshi then turned his attention to Premier Smith.

“I’ve known you for 30 years. You’re better than this. You need to be better than this. And I don’t care about your cynical polling. I don’t care about you saying that most Albertans are on your side, because that’s always what minority rights is about,” he said.

“Premier Smith, I want you to understand that votes aren’t worth a few dead kids.”

“I want you to understand your responsibility to all Albertans, and I want you to understand that we will continue to fight, and we will always win.”

The speech got plenty of reaction online, including from political scientist at Mount Royal University Duane Bratt, who said on X, formerly Twitter, that Nenshi sounded like he was giving a campaign speech.

This comes after a report from Postmedia that stated Nenshi was considering the top position of the Alberta NDP after Rachel Notley announced she would be stepping down.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Office of the Premier says the policy decisions for several ministries are to “preserve the choices children and youth have before potentially making life-altering and often irreversible adult decisions.”

“To reaffirm our support for the transgender community, we are also providing additional supports to assist transgender adults to secure the health care they need like bringing medical professionals who specialize in transgender care to Alberta. We’re also developing a private registry of medical professionals who specialize in this field to make it easier for transgender Albertans to access needed medical treatment and care,” the statement to CityNews reads.

“Additionally, we’re developing a counselling pilot project to help youth identifying as transgender and their families work through often difficult and complex issues and discussions,”

Group signs joint statement, condemns recent policies

On the same day as the rally, nearly 50 groups advocating for trans youth and gender-affirming care came together and signed a joint statement condemning the recent policies announced by the United Conservative party.

The statement includes 47 advocacy groups in the province, saying Premier Danielle Smith’s statements, which she made in a video Wednesday, and defended in a news conference Thursday, will harm the transgender community.

The group calls for the government to halt the policy proposals, a call for consultation with the transgender community, and the creation of “new regulations on established medical practices and evidence.”

“The Premier’s suite of measures seeking to restrict healthcare for transgender children, disclose private information regarding their gender identity without their consent and segregate transgender women from participation in sports do not reflect the values of our community,” the statement reads.

“Any proposal regarding the health and welfare of transgender children needs to include expert medical advice and involve consultation with all concerned parties; teachers, social workers, families, legal professionals, and most importantly the transgender community. Instead, the UCP’s Proposal interferes with Canadaians’ protected charter rights and runs contrary to the evidence-based medical practices and research over the past 80 years.

“If implemented, this suite of measures risks placing trans youth who have unsupportive families in harmful situations segregates trans women from participation in social activities, and limits access to resources for trans youth, even with parental consent.”

The premier said the province will require parental consent for students 15 and under who want to change their names or pronouns at school, and students 16 and 17 years old won’t need consent, but their parents will have to be notified.

Parents must also opt-in for their kids to participate in each class that teaches about sex education, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Current laws allow parents to opt-out of such education.

In addition, gender reassignment surgery will also be banned for those 17 and under, the premier said, and minors won’t have access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender reassignment or gender affirmation.

Bottom surgery is not permitted on minors anywhere in the country, while top surgery, or a mastectomy, is currently permitted for those 16 years and up.

Funding from the Alberta Health Care Plan for the Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) Program, first made in 2012, states surgery is only allowed for those over the age of 18.

The program also has a list of criteria, which includes psychological readiness and authorization from a psychologist, a clear understanding of the interventions to be performed, and “must be informed of, and understand, any alternative procedures.”

The criteria is based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care, which was published in 2001.

Smith was asked for a list of research and studies that were used to support the decision for the recent proposals, but Smith sidestepped the question.

She referred to the decisions made by the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, but failed to explain those decisions and their influence.

Smith also mentioned one organization in a “community,” that talked about allegedly reducing the thresholds and standards of ages for care, which cost the loss of a board member and support of the public, and “other medical associations” having different standards for care.

Alberta’s move comes months after Saskatchewan’s government also spear-headed so-called “parental rights” legislation.

A bill was given final approval in the province’s legislature in mid-October, preventing children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent. It uses the notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code.

In June, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs announced a review of an educational policy that had made it mandatory for teachers to use a student’s preferred pronouns and names at school. After the review, the government said teachers must get the consent of a parent to use different names or pronouns for students under 16.

-With files from Phil Wood, Lauyrn Heintz, and The Canadian Press