The Alberta government introduced three new bills on Thursday aimed at controlling minors’ ability to undergo certain gender-affirming healthcare procedures, choose their name and pronouns at school, and participate in sports.
The first bill, Bill 26, aims to amend multiple pieces of health legislation, including the Alberta Health Act. The bill would prohibit sex reassignment surgery on minors completely. It would also prohibit the prescription of certain drugs to treat gender dysmorphia or gender incongruence, including those listed in Schedule 1 of the Pharmacy and Drug Act and those explicitly ordered by the Minister of Health.
Bill 27 aims to amend the Education Act by introducing two major changes. The first is that minors could no longer request to be called by a “new preferred name or pronouns” without the same being notified to their parents, and if the minor is below 16 years of age, without the parents’ consent. This change has been coupled with definite access to counseling if it can reasonably be assumed that the notification will cause emotional distress to the student or if the student so requests. The second major change regards gender identity, sexual orientation, and human sexuality-related education, making it mandatory to obtain parental consent before any students can partake in it. The Alberta government highlighted the change as requiring the “school authorities to notify parents and provide the opportunity to opt their child in, rather than opt-out” of such education.
Finally, Bill 29 introduces an entirely new legislation: the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act. The Act would bar transgender women from participating in women’s sporting events in both schools and public post-secondary institutions, amongst other bodies. Mention has also been made of the possible establishment of “mixed-gender or mixed-sex” sports divisions to accommodate transgender individuals. However, the particular system cannot yet be discerned as all of these policy decisions have been delegated to certain boards, which have been defined in the legislation.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the announcement. She added that the “UCP government has proudly become one of the first in the world to introduce legislation that safeguards children’s future choices, brings parents into the loop on what’s taught in classrooms, and ensures women can fairly and safely compete in the sports they love.”
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Neshi particularly criticized the bills, calling them “anti-trans.” Organizations Egale Canada and Skipping Stone also announced that they would take legal action against the bills, stating:
Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation jointly condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the discriminatory legislation put forward by the government of Alberta. We will be taking legal action and using every tool at our disposal to stand up for the rights, safety and freedoms of 2SLGBTQI young people in Alberta.
The Alberta government first introduced its plans to implement such policies in February and received significant criticism. Candian legal experts quickly condemned the proposed restrictions, claiming they would “harm Two-Spirit, trans, and gender diverse children and youth.”
