Local groups react to government’s proposed policies regarding transgender youth

Groups opposed to Alberta’s planned policies around transgender youth held rallies in Calgary and Edmonton over the weekend, with many of the attendees warning the plans will out trans kids and put their lives in jeopardy.

Seventeen-year-old Jaidyn Wolf says he’s had trans friends die by suicide and notes that not everyone in his own family is OK with him being trans — or even know that he is.

Premier Danielle Smith says parental consent would be required for students 15 and under who want to change their names or pronouns at school. Students 16 and 17 would not need consent, but their parents would have to be notified.

At a rally outside Calgary’s city hall on Saturday, former mayor Naheed Nenshi called the video message in which Smith announced the moves “cruelty,” “inhumane” and “un-Albertan.”

In central Alberta, both the Red Deer Queer Community Association, and the Lacombe and Ponoka Pride Societies have now shared their thoughts on the proposed policies.

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Stephanie Hodgkins with the Red Deer Queer Community Association calls the proposed policies a direct attack on the most vulnerable members of the community, a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the United Nations Convention of Rights of the Child.

“In response to this gross violation of humanity, the Red Deer Queer Community Association is calling on volunteers, local businesses, and organizations to support gender-diverse and transgender youth in our community during this time of uncertainty and hostility towards our community from the Alberta government,” says Hodgkins, in a press release. “We stand in solidarity with these young people and believe we must come together to provide the necessary support they will inevitably need during these challenging times.”

Jonathan Luscombe, Director and Founder of the Lacombe Pride Society, says despite the premier’s claims, they, and many agencies like theirs, were not consulted by the government.

“The Lacombe Pride Society has not been approached by any political party wanting to discuss this new bill, sentiments shared by our counterparts at Ponoka Pride Society, who were invited to the Legislature to discuss the struggles and realities that plague the rural queer communities in the summer of last year,” says Luscombe, in a press release. “As upsetting as this is, it is not surprising. We have anticipated the Alberta government to follow in both Saskatchewan’s and New Brunswick’s suit in attacking queer students’ rights. Policies are being challenged in court for potentially overriding the “Charter of Rights and Freedoms” and children’s protected rights to Bodily Autonomy in both of those provinces.”

“We are committed to ensuring that all youth and adults of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community feel safe and welcomed in our respective communities and spaces,” adds Luscombe. “Our goal has always been to be beacons of hope, love, acceptance, and diversity; a beautiful thing we have in common with our province. Through our stories and messages, we advocate for every person to belong as themselves in their home, freely without fear.”

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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