The federal government may withhold funding to Alberta if Premier Danielle Smith moves forward on transgender policies announced last week. The policies include prohibiting gender reassignment surgeries for minors 17 years old and under, no puberty blockers nor hormone therapies for ages 15 and under and requiring parental permission and consent from psychological professionals for 16- and 17-year-olds. The proposed legislation also includes the requirement for minors 15 and under to have parental consent if they wish to change their name and pronouns, and while 16- and 17-year-olds don’t require parental consent, the parents will be notified. Speaking to reporters Monday, Minister of Employment Randy Boissonnault was asked directly if the Liberal-NDP coalition government would “withhold funding” to Alberta if Smith follows through. He said that specific subject hadn’t come up, but he had discussed with Minister of Health Mark Holland about whether Smith’s legislation contravenes the Canada Health Act — and if so, there would be precedent to withholding funds. “That didn't come up, but as I've said before, ministers of health and our government have held money back from jurisdictions that contravene the Canada Health Act and we will do so in the future,” Boissonnault said. “I can't say that (it contravenes the Canada Health Act) without seeing the regulations, but Minister Holland and I have had this conversation.”Boissonnault said the federal government understands the “position is firmly held by the premier,” and “encouraged her to spend more time with people in the trans community, with medical professionals, with teachers, with people for whom this is going to have a significant effect.”“Outing kids at school isn't helpful,” he said. “In fact, it's harmful. And so I think we have a lot of work to do to continue to mobilize on this issue and to let UCP MLAs know that it's not the Alberta that we want.”
