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Vancouver Sun
12 hours ago
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Alberta transgender health-care bill blocked as judge issues temporary injunction
EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment Friday, said the law raises serious Charter issues that need to be hashed out in court, and issued a temporary injunction against it before it fully came into effect. Kuntz wrote that a temporary stop is needed while the issue is debated. 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote in the judgment. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Intentionally or not, the ban will signal that there is something wrong with or suspect about having a gender identity that is different than the sex you were assigned at birth.' The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, bans doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation — as well as five transgender youth who would be affected by the law — took the province to court the same month it passed. In the Friday decision, Kuntz wrote that denying treatment risks causing youth emotional harm and exposing them to permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity. The government, according to the decision, argued that claims of harm were speculative considering the law wasn't fully in effect, and that the treatments the law seeks to ban aren't scientifically supported. Kuntz wrote that the advocacy groups also submitted scientific evidence on the treatments that support their perspectives, but the injunction hearings weren't the appropriate stage to determine which side's evidence stood taller. Kuntz, however, largely sided with the advocacy group's evidence in her decision. She wrote that the government's scientific evidence wasn't 'so overwhelming' as to prevent a finding that the youth's human rights are being infringed upon. The province also argued that the law didn't cause the psychological harm facing the youth involved in the case, but it was a result of going through puberty. 'The starting point for an alleged harm might not be caused by government action, but government action may impact an individual's ability to address the harm in a way that infringes their Charter rights and causes further harm,' Kuntz wrote in response to that argument. Egale's legal director Bennett Jensen said Friday that the decision was a 'huge relief.' '(The legislation) does not solve any real issues in the medical system,' Jensen said in an interview. 'It simply creates them and targets an already very vulnerable, small group of young people with further discrimination, and that's what the judge found.' Premier Danielle Smith has said she believes the legislation is needed to protect young people from making permanent, life-altering decisions. Smith has said it's about preserving that adult choice, and that making 'permanent and irreversible decisions' about one's biological sex while still a child can limit that. Kuntz, in her decision, disagreed and said Alberta's law was not necessary to preserve choice. 'That choice is available without government intervention,' Kuntz wrote. 'The ban takes away choice in favour of preserving a very specific choice that some youth may not want to preserve, or that some youth may want to approach differently than the ban assumes.' Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery's press secretary, Heather Jenkins, reiterated in an email that the legislation protects youth from making irreversible decisions. 'Alberta's government will continue to vigorously defend our position in court and is considering all options with respect to the court's decision,' Jenkins said. Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement that his party was pleased with the decision, calling it a 'great day for young Albertans who simply want to live authentically and safely.' 'This was never about doing the right thing: it was always about demonizing vulnerable kids to boost Danielle Smith's political fortunes,' Nenshi said. Also lauding the decision Friday was Senator Kris Wells, the former Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth. 'This isn't just a win for trans youth, it is a win for Canada's health-care system,' Wells wrote on social media. 'No politician should be dictating or restricting your access to evidence-based medical care.' Egale and the Skipping Stone Foundation aren't the only groups challenging the bill. Last month, the Canadian Medical Association and three Alberta-based doctors launched a legal case challenging the legislation's constitutionality, arguing it violates their Charter right to freedom of conscience. Alberta's other two pieces of transgender legislation _ banning transgender women from competing in women's sports and requiring children under 16 to have parental consent to change their names or pronouns at school — have yet to be challenged in court. The education bill also requires parents to opt in for their children to receive lessons in school on sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. The next step after Friday's decision is for both sides to make substantive arguments before the court on whether the law violates Charter rights, but Jensen said dates for arguments have yet to be set. — With additional reporting from Aaron Sousa Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Calgary Herald
12 hours ago
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Groups secure injunction pausing Alberta government's transgender health-care legislation
Alberta government legislation preventing doctors in the province from providing gender-affirming care to minors has been paused under a court judgment released Friday. Article content The Court of King's Bench of Alberta decision granted an injunction application led by Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation. Article content Article content Justice Allison Kuntz, in her written decision granting the temporary injunction, said Charter challenges raised by the applicants over Bill 26, the Health Statues Amendment Act, warrant further legal argument. Article content Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote. Article content Article content The bill, introduced last October but not yet in full effect, restricted certain treatments and surgeries for gender dysphoria for individuals under 18, including a ban on puberty blocker and hormone therapies for individuals under the age of 16, and gender reassignment surgeries for people under 18. Article content The applicants included five gender-diverse young Albertans, aged six to 12, and their parents, in addition to the two LGBTQ advocacy groups. Article content They challenged the constitutionality of the amended provisions, arguing the changes violate rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights. Article content 'This is an historic win, affirming that young people in Alberta and across Canada deserve to live authentically in safety and freedom,' Skipping Stone founders Lindsay Peace and Amelia Newbert said in a statement. Article content 'As we have long argued, the government should never interfere in the medical decisions of doctors and patients or prevent parents and youth from deciding what medical care is right for them.' Article content The province had argued preventing access to puberty blocking drugs for trans children and other measures in the bill is based on evidence suggesting such treatments may be harmful. Article content 'Alberta . . . does not doubt the value of providing care to children facing (gender dysphoria or gender incongruence), but that care must be safe and evidence based,' government lawyer David Madsen told Kuntz at a March hearing. Article content 'That is what the legislation is about. Protecting the safety and long-term choice of children and youth from a risky and experimental medical intervention, for which there is little evidence of benefit and evidence of significant harm in some cases.'
Global News
16 hours ago
- Health
- Global News
Judge grants injunction request blocking Alberta's gender-affirming care legislation
Organizations that advocate for members of the LGBTQ2 community are calling a court injunction preventing the Alberta government from banning gender-affirming treatment for people under 16 'a historic win.' Egale Canada welcomed the decision in a news release on Friday afternoon. Egale along with a group called Skipping Stone and several Alberta families have argued that gender-affirming care legislation introduced in Bill 26 will cause harm. 'As we have long argued, the government should never interfere in the medical decisions of doctors and patients or prevent parents and youth from deciding what medical care is right for them,' Egale Canada said. 'Everyone deserves the ability to access health care and participate fully in their communities. 'We are grateful that the court has acted to protect access to critical medical care.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy When she issued the temporary injunction, Justice Allison Kuntz said the legislation raises serious issues that need to addressed in court and that her decision was in order to prevent 'irreparable harm' for young patients until the issues at play are addressed. Story continues below advertisement The organizations filed documents to seek the injunction with the Court of King's Bench of Alberta in late 2024. The LGBTQ2 groups involved in the case had argued that changes to health law violate gender-diverse young people's Section 7 Charter right to security of the person, their Section 12 right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and their Section 15 right to equality. They also argued it violates the Alberta Bill of Rights. Bill 26 is one of three pieces of legislation affecting transgender people passed by Alberta's United Conservative government in the fall. –with files from The Canadian Press' Lisa Johnson
