Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s proposed new policy changes to 2SLGBTQQIA+ health care, social services, public education and sports are an alarming affront to the rights of trans and gender-diverse people.
TELL ALBERTA THAT THIS ATTACK ON 2SLGBTQQIA+ RIGHTS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith released a video outlining the provincial government’s plan for a sweeping attack on the rights of 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Alberta.
The suite of policy changes will severely limit 2SLGBTQQIA+ youths’ access to gender affirming medical care, social support, and education.
In the education sphere, in cases where students are 15 or younger, Alberta’s teachers will be banned from using trans and non-binary students’ preferred pronouns and gender-affirming names without the consent of their parents or guardians. For students who are 16 and 17, parents or guardians will be notified when a name or pronoun change is formally requested. In addition, Alberta will require parent or guardian consent for students to participate in any formal classroom instruction involving gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual diversity. While all third-party resource materials related to gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality in the K-12 school system will need to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education.
The plan further includes a prohibition of gender affirming medical care for children and youth under age 17. Hormone therapy will now only be accessible with parental consent and the approval of healthcare professionals.
It is also deeply troubling that the government did not engage with existing evidence-based research or had meaningful consultations with 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities, advocates, community organizations and education and health care experts, prior to making these policy changes.
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Read our full statement here: Amnesty International Canada condemns ‘appalling’ anti-trans policy changes in Alberta.
Top image @YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images
