Western Canada: More fallout from Danielle Smith’s plan on transgender rights

Hi everyone, Mark Iype in Edmonton today.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith spent part of this week first in Ottawa then in Washington, selling her province’s energy sector and its bonafides to political leaders in Ontario and then south of the border.

And after releasing her government’s plan on transgender rights the week before, lighting a fire under those opposed to her proposals, it was probably a good time to step away from the brewing culture war and get back to what the province is best known for – oil and gas.

But that didn’t exactly quiet the conversation.

On Monday, Smith met with federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, who denounced the proposals before the meeting, describing them as “the most draconian and harmful policies for young people in the country.”

Following their conversation, Smith defended her approach, calling it “balanced.”

That evening, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the venue where Smith was expected to speak at a reception held by the Canada Strong and Free organization, previously called the Manning Centre for Building Democracy.

But as Smith settled into meetings in Washington on Wednesday, hundreds of students around Alberta walked out of class in protest of the new proposed policies that would affect everything from who gets to compete against who in sports, to sex education in schools to how gender-affirming care is accessed by youth.

“It’s just a violation of human rights. It’s absolutely disgusting that that’s something she could do to thousands of trans kids,” said Yomade Akapo, 16. “I don’t think she understands how she’s affecting these kids, how she’s affecting their mental health.”

At the same time Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre offered further support for Smith and her policy proposals. Speaking specifically about the use of puberty blockers by youth, Poilievre said the government should protect the rights of parents to make decisions for their children.

“I think we should protect children in their ability to make adult decisions when they are adults,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke out later that afternoon in response to the Opposition Leader’s comments.

“What Mr. Poilievre and Ms. Smith are proposing is to take away the rights of parents and their kids to make the right choices for them with their doctors. We don’t think government should be doing that,” he said.

While Smith has repeatedly said she hopes the debate around her controversial policies won’t be politicized, it seems as though the ship sailed on that dream the moment she released her video announcing her plan last week.

As The Globe and Mail argued in its editorial this week, provinces set guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria all the time, pointing to the rules set out in Nova Scotia and British Columbia that are not dissimilar to what Smith is proposing. The difference: “They let their health departments act independently of overt political interference.”

“If she had mentioned even once in her video that her decision was informed by experts in the Ministry of Health, or quoted just one study that demonstrated that she has an understanding of the current state of transgender health care, her policies might not have sparked such outrage,” the editorial board argues.

“But of course she didn’t, making it all too clear her harmful policies have very little to do with children’s health, and everything to do with politics.”

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.