If that goal surprised the crowd, then Daniel Smith had succeeded. Instead of copying custody laws introduced in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, Alberta’s premier released a comprehensive manifesto on youth sexuality on Wednesday. What she calls the “whole package” includes not only custody provisions, but also gender-affirming care for minors, transgender athletes, and sex education.
Anyone who thought that Mr. Smith, a libertarian who values ​​bodily autonomy, would grudgingly wade into this issue, as I did, was wrong. She jumped right in.
The United Conservative Party’s plan goes further than just requiring parental notification and consent for children and teens who choose to change their name or pronouns at school. It would require stricter and broader policies than those seen in Canada, and it would take months to unravel the details and potential impacts. There will also be protests. The regulatory and legal implementation process will continue until the fall. A court challenge is certain.
This is an amount that ordinary people cannot understand.
But this strategy will allow Ms Smith and her party to gain public opinion and tap into a wave of concerns from parents who feel left out of important information about their children’s lives. Many feel that discussions around these issues lack open, curiosity-based dialogue. “I’m confident that Albertans don’t want their children to have to make irreversible decisions that will impact their reproductive health,” Smith said.
But there are also concerns about young lives – trans young people who could benefit from care and are especially vulnerable to depression, self-harm, abuse and bullying. The Alberta Teachers’ Association said it is “concerned that students may feel suppressed in their identities and may be afraid to reach out to teachers as a means of support.”
Daniel Smith needs to admit he made a mistake on imported medicines
Depoliticizing the issue, as the Prime Minister has long wanted, is not on the menu. It’s true that Smith’s social media video announcing the policy took on a deeply sympathetic, familial tone. He said the state supports and loves children who identify as transgender and pledged to build the state’s health care system for adults receiving treatment for gender dysphoria.
But the fact that the UCP is prioritizing this over a thousand other things is a political decision. This confirms the view of those who believe Mr Smith is being led by the most socially conservative wing of the party ahead of a review of the party’s leadership later this year. This leaves the ruling party at risk of further bozo eruptions and more centrist members scaring away.
Few expected Alberta to dig deeper into regulating gender-reassignment surgery and puberty-blocking drugs. And just to be clear, this part is not about guidelines or consultation with health care professionals or family members. It’s about codification, that is, new laws and regulations.
Surgery for young people is already relatively rare, and all lower body surgeries are already restricted to adults in Canada. But Smith noted last week that some medical experts are taking a more cautious approach when it comes to puberty blockers and hormones. Countries with long histories of providing gender dysphoria services, including the UK, France, Finland and Sweden, have put the brakes on such treatments for young people, citing concerns about appropriate care and outcomes.
But rather than follow the European path led by health officials, Alberta’s plan is a conservative move that is enacting laws restricting gender-affirming care for young people as part of a culture war between Republicans and Democrats. Similar to US states. Smith did not provide a clear answer Thursday when asked whether health care providers, teachers and parents who break the rules, perhaps by taking a child to another jurisdiction for treatment, will be penalized. There wasn’t.
Also, a much-underestimated issue in Smith’s plan is new rules for classroom instruction on gender identity, sexual orientation, and human sexuality. In Alberta, teachers will be required to notify parents and opt-in each time they provide formal instruction in these subjects.
The problem is obvious. It is likely that fewer children will be taught about human sexuality. And this appears to be based on examples from states such as Florida. In Florida, sex education programs are the subject of endless political battles over issues such as abstinence and gender identity.
The Prime Minister said the government would launch a pilot to provide a collaborative counseling service to support parents and young people who identify as transgender, adding: “We would like to encourage all teachers, parents, classmates, We encourage youth volunteers to be on the lookout for any instances of bullying among young people or children.”
Yes, certainly. But the risks to vulnerable children are so high that it is not enough to say, as the Prime Minister has done, that rare cases of domestic abuse can be dealt with by child protection services. This is a far from foolproof system, and it’s much more complex than that.