A doctor heavily involved in the gender transition of minors is now the 2026-2027 head of the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS).On May 23, CPS announced Dr. Natasha Johnson would be their new president for a one-year term, the same doctor responsible for founding the Gender Diversity Clinic at McMaster's Children's Hospital back in 2016.As the name implies, the clinic consists of "services for trans and gender-diverse youth." Johnson also currently holds the titles of "Chair of Diversity and Inclusion for McMaster University's Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Program," according to her McMaster University professor profile.In a clip from CTV’s W5 back in 2021, Johnson was interviewed, where she expressed opinions such as how "detransitioning is not only rare — but focusing on it overshadows what she said is a high success rate," as paraphrased by W5. ."In Canada there is data about transition — there is a study of about 500 people who have gone through transition, which includes hormones, blockers, or surgery and 96% report they are satisfied," Johnson cited in the interview.This contradicts many more recent findings, including a Finnish study from April, which found adolescents exhibited a significant increase of mental health issues after receiving medical gender reassignment surgery and/or hormones.It was a longitudinal study, following over 2000 individuals under 23 years old who were given gender reassignment treatment between 1996 and 2019.They found young adults who requested treatment were "significantly" more likely to have mental health issues than their peers before and after referral..Study finds youth mental health worsens after gender reassignment treatments.Notably, they discovered those who received treatment after 2010 had "greater" mental health issues both before and after treatment.This may also suggest that after 2010 "mental health challenges [were more likely to] manifest as concerns related to gender identity."The research opposes Johnson's statements — pointing instead to gender related concerns in youth being correlated with "mental health challenges," while youth experienced a significant increase in mental health issues after gender treatment.When Johnson was challenged on the claims young adults do not have the mental bandwidth to make long-term, permanent decisions, she had the following to say:."I think to assume that in general 13 year olds have no knowledge of the future or of the consequences of decisions, I think would be an overstatement.""I think each young person needs to be assessed — it is important to share stories of the thousands of people who are satisfied with transition and report it was life-saving," remarked Johnson."We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Natasha Johnson as 2026-2027 President! We look forward to the expertise and passion she brings to the role," CPS wrote in their Facebook announcement. As the National Post reports, CPS is one of the few remaining bodies still holding the position of immediately "affirming" children who report gender dysphoria. .Among those who are no longer taking this approach — the US, Australia, New Zealand, and many countries in Europe have all scrapped their gender "affirming" practices in recent years.In the UK, when, in 2024, it released the Cass review, a government review of medical treatment related to gender dysphoria for minors, found thousands of minors were prescribed puberty-blocking hormonal treatments with "remarkably weak" evidence of effectiveness or of the long-term consequences. Another similar statement was echoed back in February by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) both issuing statements to surgeons to stop pushing gender surgeries for youth suggesting the causes of gender dysphoria were temporary.CPS has not changed their "affirming" position on gender care for minors since 2023. .CPS' statement advocates for children as young as two years of age being capable of detecting a "mismatch" in their gender."While gender-affirming surgeries are less commonly performed in the adolescent population, TGD youth may identify surgery as one of their transition goals," it says.
