Latest news with #Bill26
Calgary Herald
9 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
13 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
National Post
11-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
Dr. J. Edward Les: The Canadian Medical Association's inexplicable stance on pediatric gender medicine
Late last month, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) announced that it, along with three Alberta doctors, had filed a constitutional challenge to Alberta's Bill 26 'to protect the relationship between patients, their families and doctors when it comes to making treatment decisions.' Article content Bill 26, which became law last December, prohibits doctors in the province from prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapies for those under 16; it also bans doctors from performing gender-reassignment surgeries on minors (those under 18). Article content Article content Article content The unprecedented CMA action follows its strongly worded response in February 2024 to Alberta's (at the time) proposed legislation: Article content Article content 'The CMA is deeply concerned about any government proposal that restricts access to evidence-based medical care, including the Alberta government's proposed restrictions on gender-affirming treatments for pediatric transgender patients.' Article content But here's the problem with that statement, and with the CMA's position: the evidence supporting the 'gender affirmation' model of care — which propels minors onto puberty blockers, cross-gender hormones, and in some cases, surgery — is essentially non-existent. That's why the United Kingdom's Conservative government, in the aftermath of the exhaustive four-year-long Cass Review, which laid bare the lack of evidence for that model, and which shone a light on the deeply troubling potential for the model's irreversible harm to youth, initiated a temporary ban on puberty blockers — a ban made permanent last December by the subsequent Labour government. And that's why other European jurisdictions like Finland and Sweden, after reviews of gender affirming care practices in their countries, have similarly slammed the brakes on the administration of puberty blockers and cross-gender hormones to minors. Article content Article content It's not only the Europeans who have raised concerns. The alarm bells are ringing loudly within our own borders: earlier this year, a group at McMaster University, headed by none other than Dr. Gordon Guyatt, one of the founding gurus of the 'evidence-based care' construct that rightfully underpins modern medical practice, issued a pair of exhaustive systematic reviews and meta analyses that cast grave doubts on the wisdom of prescribing these drugs to youth. Article content Article content And yet, the CMA purports to be 'deeply concerned about any government proposal that restricts access to evidence-based medical care,' which begs the obvious question: Where, exactly, is the evidence for the benefits of the 'gender affirming' model of care? The answer is that it's scant at best. Worse, the evidence that does exist, points, on balance, to infliction of harm, rather than provision of benefit.
Globe and Mail
29-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Morning Update: Canadian doctors take Alberta to court
Good morning. Canada's largest medical organization has joined the legal battle against Alberta's controversial Bill 26 – more on that below, along with the rebirth of BlackBerry and the country's summer forecast. But first: In a seven-and-a-half minute video posted to social media last year, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attempted to assure transgender youth that she had their backs. 'As long as I lead this province,' Smith began, 'I will ensure you are supported and your rights are protected.' Then she proceeded to unveil the most aggressive set of proposals anywhere in Canada to limit trans rights. Part of the legislation bans transgender athletes from playing in women's and girls' sports leagues. Part of it requires parental consent for name and pronoun changes in schools. But it's Alberta's Bill 26, which restricts access to gender-affirming treatment for trans youth, that has already prompted legal challenge. Right after it passed into law in December, two advocacy organizations and five families with gender-diverse kids filed an action alleging Bill 26 violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And yesterday, the Canadian Medical Association joined them with its own constitutional challenge, arguing the law violates doctors' Charter right to freedom of conscience. Taking a provincial government to court is new territory for the CMA and the 75,000 physicians it represents. But the national organization said it was compelled to step in to safeguard the relationship between patients, their families and their doctors. 'This legislation has put me and many of my colleagues in a state of moral crisis,' said family physician Jake Donaldson, a co-applicant with the CMA, who provides gender-affirming care to about 40 youth in Calgary. Alberta's law exposes an already vulnerable group to greater harm, he told The Globe, and 'commands physicians to stand on the sidelines and watch them suffer.' The bill Bill 26 bans top and bottom gender-reassessment surgeries on youth under the age of 18. It also prohibits doctors in the province from prescribing hormone therapies and puberty blockers for people under 16. The United Conservative government insists these are necessary measures to protect the health and safety of Alberta youth. 'Encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth,' Smith said in her social-media video, 'poses a risk to that child's future that I as Premier am not comfortable with permitting in this province.' But much of this legislation is largely moot. Gender-affirming surgeries on lower body parts are already age-restricted by the Canadian Paediatric Society – they can't be performed on people under 18. Top surgery is only funded by Alberta Health if patients are at least 18 years old. Even without public coverage, it is rarely performed on anyone younger. According to the province's own numbers, doctors carried out just eight pediatric breast surgeries for gender-affirming reasons between January 2022 and November 2023. And very few youth under 16 receive hormone therapies, where estrogen or testosterone is taken to produce physical changes that reflect a person's gender identity. Canadian endocrine societies already recommend physicians wait until then to start hormone treatment. Instead, it's Alberta's age limits on puberty blockers that fall well outside established medical practice and could pose the greatest threat to trans youth. Organizations like the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Canadian Paediatric Society support the use of puberty blockers to buy time for young people to consider their decision without the pressure of a changing body. Medical guidelines recommend adolescents start blockers once they show the first physical signs of puberty, which happens, on average, between the ages of 10 and 12. Waiting until 16 to begin this treatment is simply too late for most teens. Should young people change their minds, the effects of puberty blockers are completely reversible. But delaying access to blockers, and forcing adolescents to undergo development inconsistent with their gender identity, can cause significant distress that could result in depression, self-harm and suicide. When kids are able to 'move around in a body that aligns with their gender identity, they are safer and happier,' physician Jake Donaldson told The Globe. 'It's just this massive impact on quality of life that we can fix if we're able to support these folks through their initial puberty.' The response In a statement yesterday, Heather Jenkins, press secretary to Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery, said that 'Bill 26 was introduced to protect and preserve children and youth from potentially irreversible decisions.' She added that the provincial government will 'vigorously' defend its position in court. The Canadian Medical Association is ready for that fight. 'This legal challenge is not just about Alberta and gender-affirming care,' the CMA said. Health decisions are complex and deeply personal. 'They must be made by patients and their families, in partnership with their health provider – not by politicians.' Minister of Agriculture Heath MacDonald expressed exasperation yesterday at the U.S. President's latest pitch: Canada can shell out US$61-billion to join Donald Trump's 'fabulous Golden Dome system' (his words) or get it for free by becoming the 51st state. Read more here about the proposal that diplomat Bob Rae called a 'protection racket.' Abroad: Four people died yesterday after thousands of Palestinians burst into a United Nations warehouse in Gaza, ripping off pieces of the metal walls in a desperate bid to find food. At home: The Weather Network forecasts a hot summer across Canada, with droughts, wildfires and powerful thunderstorms likely in the works. On the map: Ukrainian children, abducted from their homes by Russian forces, are being trained to fight for Vladimir Putin. A Canadian-funded project is helping track them down. Changing lanes: Former smartphone titan BlackBerry has a new CEO and big plans to dominate another market: self-driving cars. Cashing in: Hailey Bieber's skincare brand, Rhode, was just acquired by E.l.f. Beauty for US$1-billion.
Globe and Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
Alberta doctors' group supports CMA's constitutional challenge of bill limiting access to medical care for trans youth
The Alberta Medical Association, which advocates on behalf of thousands of local doctors, says it strongly supports its national counterpart in taking the provincial government to court over its transgender legislation. On Wednesday, the Canadian Medical Association filed a constitutional challenge in the Court of King's Bench of Alberta against Bill 26, which limits access to medical care for transgender youth. Three Alberta doctors, all of whom provide gender-affirming care, are co-applicants in the filing. The CMA contends that Bill 26, which became law last December, violates physicians' freedom of conscience as guaranteed in Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The organization says the bill undermines the principle of clinical autonomy and 'cuts at the core' of a physician's professional identity. 'This profound violation cannot be justified in a free and democratic society,' the application states. Shelley Duggan, president of the AMA, said in a statement released Wednesday that the provincial organization supports 'in the strongest terms' the legal action brought forward by the CMA. 'The CMA's review application addresses the moral distress of physicians who are being barred from delivering the evidence-based care that they are called to provide under both their code of ethics and the standard of care,' Dr. Duggan said. 'That distress is real. I hear it every day in many places.' The legislation bars doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapies for people under 16 and prohibits any gender-reassignment surgeries on minors (those under 18) – which are already performed rarely in Alberta. Heather Jenkins, press secretary to Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery, said in a statement Wednesday that the Alberta government will 'vigorously' defend its position in court. 'Bill 26 was introduced to protect and preserve children and youth from potentially irreversible decisions,' she said. This is the second legal action that has been taken against the Alberta government for Bill 26. Advocacy groups Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation, together with families with gender-diverse children, filed a legal challenge last December that alleges the law violates several Charter-protected rights and contradicts Alberta's own Bill of Rights. Premier Danielle Smith has defended Bill 26 as necessary to protect children from making life-altering decisions that they could later regret. She has argued that the legislation strikes a balance between protecting children and upholding the rights of transgender people. Children's Healthcare Canada, in a statement Wednesday, also voiced support for the CMA's constitutional challenge. Jillian Demontigny, Jake Donaldson and Joseph Raiche, the Alberta doctors who are co-applicants with the CMA, said in their individual affidavits that this legislation has put them in an impossible position. They argue that they must now choose between compromising their ethical standards or breaking the law. Dr. Demontigny, in her affidavit, said restricting gender-affirming care for youth can cause suffering, including from gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. She said this type of care is vital and only provided after meaningful consultation. 'I cannot in good conscience abandon these patients,' she said. Dr. Raiche, in his affidavit, said he is 'profoundly troubled by the grave human cost' that the prohibitions will bring. 'Denying treatment and telling physicians that they are powerless to act is not a neutral posture,' he said. 'It is an affront to the dignity of patients whose dignity is already under daily attack by our society, and to the professional and ethical agency of doctors who care for them.' With a report from Kristy Kirkup in Ottawa
