Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan has compared the United Conservative Party’s (UCP) new rules on gender participation in girls’ sports to Taliban restrictions on women.In a post on X, McGowan said the rules are “unconstitutional,” citing Premier Danielle Smith’s acknowledgment that her government may need to invoke the notwithstanding clause to defend them. He wrote, “Alberta’s Taliban must be proud.”The UCP announced earlier this year that transgender girls and boys will not be permitted to participate in girls’ school and community sports. Smith has argued the measure is needed to ensure fairness and safety in competition. .Critics, including sexual minority advocates and legal experts, say the rules may contravene Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees equality rights. Smith has said she is prepared to use the notwithstanding clause if courts strike down the policy, an option rarely invoked in Canadian politics.The Taliban, which retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, has imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s rights. Girls have been banned from most secondary schools and universities, women are prohibited from working in many professions, and all organized sports for women and girls are outlawed. Under Taliban law, women cannot travel without a male guardian, are required to wear the hijab or burqa in public, and face severe penalties for noncompliance. Homosexuality is also criminalized, with punishments that can include imprisonment, corporal punishment, or the death penalty..Alberta’s policy differs sharply in scope and enforcement. It applies only to competitive school and community sports, does not affect education or employment, and is subject to constitutional review within a democratic framework. While the Taliban enforces restrictions through coercion and punishment, Alberta’s rules are debated in the legislature, challenged in the courts, and remain open to reversal by voters in future elections.McGowan’s comparison highlights contrasting approaches: one government exercising near-total authority to restrict women’s and sexual minority rights in nearly all aspects of public life, and another pursuing a narrow policy in sports that faces immediate constitutional and political checks.The Alberta NDP has previously criticized the UCP’s approach as discriminatory, while the government maintains its position is about protecting the integrity of girls’ sports.
