Alberta premier promises pronouns law in schools this fall

Photo: Jason Franson The Canadian Press Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Edmonton on May 15

Lisa Johnson – The Canadian Press in Edmonton

Published at 6:31 p.m.

• Canada

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

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 those 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,” Smith said at a news conference on an unrelated topic Thursday.

Her comments come about three weeks before most K-12 schools are set to open for classes.

The issue of naming, along with restricting transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming health care, banning transgender participation in girls’ sports and requiring parental consent for sex education in schools, are among the policies Smith plans to enshrine in law, a commitment she made in January.

‘More than bizarre obsession’

“Once you pass a law, you have to implement regulations,” said Smith, who did not provide details on how the law would be implemented. law.

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After Smith’s announcement, 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 would ignore our crumbling health care system to obsess over the parts people have in their pants is deeply disturbing. “This trans panic she’s creating is hateful, hurtful and needs to stop,” Wells said 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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Smith’s announcement follows similar moves in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

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

The province invoked the rarely used notwithstanding clause to override sections of the 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 violates the rights of gender-diverse children.

A report by Saskatchewan’s children’s advocate said it violates 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