Alberta NDP MLA Sarah Elmeligi (Banff-Kananaskis) issued an apology for saying children in care do not have parents. While Elmeligi made this comment, she said she “got flustered as I was running out of time.”“I wanted to draw attention to the many children in care who may not have legal guardians to speak for them,” tweeted Elmeligi on Wednesday.“I am sorry that I didn’t clarify what I was intending to say.”.Elmeligi had said in a speech in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta an important point to consider about the opt-in system for sex education proposed in the Education Amendment Act (EAA) was the province having 9,000 to 10,000 children in care. “Who opts them in?” she said. “They don’t have parents, so who is opting them in in the system.” With the opt-in requirement, she said children in care was a critical point being unaddressed. She added she was a mother and thought she was a good one. Alberta Children and Family Services policy advisor William Heaman pointed out Elmeligi said children in care do not have parents. “They do,” said Heaman. “What you said is insulting and demeaning to kids in care, foster parents, kinship parents, and their biological parents.”.In response, Heaman requested she apologize. Heaman revealed Elmeligi issued an identical apology on Bluesky. “Thank you, member,” he said. .The three bills the Alberta government vowed to introduce about gender identity came out on October 31..UPDATED: Alberta government introduces three bills with gender identity policies .The Alberta government introduced the EAA to amend the Education Act to what it says will support student success and well-being in schools. If passed, the Alberta government said the EAA would strengthen ties between parents and their children’s education by providing more transparency, clarity, and consistency in it and the school community so students can continue to learn and grow. It said the proposed amendments will help parents and students navigate conversations about sexual orientation, gender identity, and human sexuality.
