Alberta unveils changes to parental consent rules, transgender sports

The Alberta government unveiled a series of new policies regarding children and LGBTQ rights on Wednesday, including bans on gender reassignment surgery for those aged under 17 and on hormone therapy for children aged 15 and under, as well as limits on sports participation for transgender athletes.

The changes were unveiled by Premier Danielle Smith in a video posted to social media on Wednesday afternoon.

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“Deciding whether or not to alter one’s biological sex, making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future,” she said in the video.

“Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well intentioned and sincere, poses a risk to that child’s future that I as premiere am not comfortable with permitting in our province.”

Smith ends the video by addressing trans and LGBTQ youth by saying, ” It’s to those children and teens that I want to say just how much we love you and support you in becoming the person you want to be.”

Under the new policies, minors aged 17 and under are not permitted to undergo top and bottom gender surgeries.

And, children aged 15 and under will not be permitted to either use puberty blockers or undergo hormone therapy for the purpose of gender reassignment or affirmation, save for those who have already begun treatment.

Those aged 16 and 17 will be permitted to commence hormone therapies for gender reassignment and affirmation purposes, Smith said, “so long as they are deemed mature enough to make these decisions,” and also have parental, physician and psychologist approval.

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Smith said the government is seeking to attract “one or more medical professionals” who specialize in transgender surgery to practise in the province, adding the current practice is for those seeking that procedure to travel to Quebec.

The government will also now require parents to be notified and opt-in for each instance a teacher intends to give formal instruction on gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality.

It will also require parental notification and consent for a school to alter the name or pronouns of a child aged 15 and under, while notification is required for 16- or 17-year-olds.

“We know that nearly all parents, even those who may disagree with a decision of their children, will love and care for their children no matter what choices they make,” Smith said, adding she believed child protection laws would be sufficient “in the handful of rare situations” where one or both parents reject, or abuse, the child.

Smith also discussed what she claimed was a “unfair disadvantages” that young female athletes face when competing against those were biologically male, and said the government will work with sports organizations to stop that from happening.

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“There are obvious biological realities that give transgender female athletes a massive competitive advantage over women and girls,” Smith said.

The Human Rights Campaign, an American group that aims to “end discrimination against LGBTQ people,” has challenged that advantage around sports, arguing such policies rely on stereotypes and that natural variations in physical characteristics already exist within sports, especially at the youth level.

Dr. Kristopher Wells, the Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth at MacEwan University, characterized the changes as “the most draconian” to ever be introduced in Canada.

“It is a full-on attack against trans and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. It is not only immoral, it is illegal,” he posted to social media following Smith’s video.

Wells, who co-founded the rainbow Pride Tape that was banned by the NHL last fall, added, “there is no evidence or research to support any of these recommendations. This is ideological warfare.”

Smith is slated to speak more to the policy changes and take questions from media a Thursday news conference in Calgary at 1:30 p.m.

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