Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government’s policies about transgender minors and athletes are about keeping people safe. “These are sensitive conversations involving children, and I hope we can depoliticize these issues as much as possible as we work through the process of implementing these policies into law and regulations in a fair, effective way,” said Smith at a Thursday press conference..To every transgender Albertan, Smith said she cares about their happiness and well-being. She added she supports them in becoming the people they want to be or who they are. As Alberta premier, shesaid she will ensure transgender rights are always protected. For transgender children, she said these policies “are being implemented in order to protect the choices you have regarding altering your physical body until after you’ve grown mature enough to make such choices safely and with a full understanding of what that means for the rest of your life.” The premier went on to say these policies include a prohibition on gender reassignment surgeries for minors 17 years old and under. For minors 15 years old and under, she said puberty blockers and hormone therapies will be prohibited, except for those who have commenced them. For 16- and 17-year-old minors who wish to start hormone therapies, this will be permitted with parental permission and psychological approval and consent. The Alberta government is working to attract specialists in transgender healthcare to the province to assist those who wish to transition.In the classrooms, she said discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation and human sexuality will happen at the right time and with parental involvement. This will include a parental opt-in requirement if teachers want to discuss these subjects. Additionally, she acknowledged minors 15 and under will require parental consent before their names and pronouns are changed at schools. For 16- and 17-year-old minors, parental consent will not be required, but parents will have to be notified. The Alberta government will launch a pilot project to offer counselling services to families with transgender children. In the rare circumstances they experience abusive environments, child protection laws will be enforced..Smith concluded by saying it will take measures to protect women’s and girl's sports by working with sports organizations to ensure biological women and girls can participate without having to compete against transgender athletes. To accommodate transgender athletes, she said it will expand co-ed and gender neutral categories so they can participate in the sports they love. “Gender identity can be a very emotional issue, especially in the context of children,” she said. “As we move forward developing and implementing these policies into law, I hope we can depoliticize the issue as much as possible and focus on the well-being of the children involved.” Smith followed up by saying the Alberta government needs to “have that balance in making sure families are supported but also making sure the child is able to become who they’re meant to be.” “So those are the reasons I thought we needed to put some of these guidelines into place,” she said. “I’m also observing around the world there really is a lot of divergence in the medical community about when the right time is for these things.”.In the absence of providing guideposts, she said these changes will be up to every doctor. Unlike other jurisdictions, Alberta will make clear when people can start certain processes in gender transitions. Smith said on Wednesday changing genders is a decision that should be reserved for adults. READ MORE: WATCH: Smith says Alberta government to restrict gender transitions in minors“Making permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one’s biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child’s choices in the future,” she said. “Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth no matter how well-intentioned or sincere poses as a risk to that child’s future that I, as premier, am not comfortable with permitting in our province.”
