Alberta | Danielle Smith promises pronoun law in schools this fall

(Edmonton) Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her government will introduce pronouns legislation in schools after the start of the school year in September.

M^me Smith said the new policy, requiring parents to be notified when children under 16 want to change their name or pronouns at school, will be proposed during the fall legislative session that begins in late October.

“I don’t want to prejudge the outcome of these deliberations, but we’re going to have a lot of time to be able to put the policies in place and implement them, so we need to make sure we have that thorough discussion,” Mr.^me Smith at a news conference on another topic Thursday.

His comments come about three weeks before most K-12 schools^e year do not open their classrooms.

The issue of first names, but also the restriction of access for young transgender people to gender-affirming health care, the ban on the participation of transgender people in women’s sports and the requirement of parental consent for sex education in schools are among the policies that M^me Smith intends to legally enforce it, a commitment she made in January.

“More than a weird obsession”

“Once you pass a law, you have to implement regulations,” said Smith, who did not provide details on what form the law’s enforcement would take.

After M’s announcement^me Smith, Kristopher Wells, Canada Research Chair in Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth at MacEwan University in Edmonton, wrote on social media that the premier’s “obsession” with the transgender community was “beyond bizarre.”

“The fact that she ignores our broken healthcare system to obsess over what parts people have in their pants is deeply disturbing. This trans panic she is manufacturing is hateful, hurtful and needs to stop,” Wells denounced on X.

LGBTQ+ rights groups Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation have warned that if Alberta moves forward with the proposed changes, they will take legal action.

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M’s announcement^me Smith’s move follows similar moves in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan passed a law in October prohibiting children under 16 from changing their name or pronouns at school without parental consent.

The province has invoked the rarely used notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Saskatchewan Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.

Dozens of teachers quickly signed an online petition calling on school divisions to disregard the law.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission argued that invoking the notwithstanding clause significantly affects the rights of minors.

Heather Kuttai, Saskatchewan’s former human rights commissioner, resigned over the law, saying it infringes on the rights of gender-diverse children.

A report from Saskatchewan’s children’s advocate said it violated rights to gender identity and expression. Lisa Broda’s report also raised concerns that teachers could be violating their professional standards of practice if they follow it.

– With information from Jeremy Simes