The Alberta government’s proposed transgender rules for the education and health care sectors, as well as sports and athletes, were made clear by a keynote speaker at the annual Canada Strong and Free Networking conference (CSFN24) in Ottawa on Friday.
Part of the president’s appearance at the meeting involved a campfire talk with True North radio host Andrew Lawton, who pressed Smith to analyze the details of the government’s designed trans policies.
“Let’s talk about your strategy regarding sex in Alberta because I discussed it with Premier Higgs yesterday, and Alberta was the most intensive country in terms of what you suggested.”
Lawton questioned Smith about the “protection of single-sex places,” especially if the government’s plan would forbid trans women from children’s shelters and prisons.
“I have not seen anything in Alberta that makes me think I need to do anything about that,” he said. “So I’m not going in that direction,” said Smith.
And Smith once more confirmed that no same-sex room regulations will be included in the act that is still pending at a press conference following her keynote speech.
However, the debate over single-sex spaces is part of a larger discussion about trans policies, particularly among the government’s personal supporter base.
During the UCP’s 2023 annual general meeting in November, one of the plan resolutions people voted in favor of was refusing trans people in women’s correctional facilities.
Although these policy proposals are brought forward by people and are not legally bound for the government, they do give the public general ideas about what the administration’s policies should be.
John Hilton-O’Brien, senior director of the Alberta-based lobbying group Parents for Choice in Education, says the government’s plans may contain rules around individual-sex spaces when it comes to children in schools.
Hilton-O’Brien claims he didn’t pay attention to the premier’s entire speech, but that he thinks she should be cautious when examining the potential impact of these policies on transgender adults.
“It would seem ridiculous to outlaw people who underwent backside surgery in order to transition from the gender they no longer wear.”
However, he says he and his advocacy group may be watching for the Alberta administration’s plans in the slide.
“Due to the increased risk of babies, this must be a hard and fast rule,” Hilton-O’Brien told CBC News.
“If it does not occur, we will say it is a loss of status art. And I can’t think of a premier facing harsher criticism.
This fall, transgender procedures will be introduced.
The premier stated at the Canada Strong and Free Network occasion on Friday that speaking with another transgender traditional colleagues has been a valuable tool in creating the framework for Alberta’s gender legislation.
“I think the issue is modesty … If you have not been fully transitioned, then you shouldn’t be exposing yourself in female-only spaces because no one should know,” Smith told Lawton.
“It’s when people feel that their secret places, when they’re only and they’re dressed, that’s when they want to make sure that they’re secure, their sites are protected … I’ve not seen anything in Alberta that leads me to believe I have to do anything about that.”
The Alberta government’s proposed trans guidelines, which are scheduled to go into effect this fall, have not yet been approved informally.
“Our authorities may be moving forward with these plans, and we expect to have extensive support as we do,” Smith told the CSFN24 masses about the Alberta government’s plans on gender during her speech.
Smith made his Friday appearance after New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who had earlier discussed a policy that Smith’s government has imposed on students to restrict their use of preferred names and pronouns in public spaces, on Thursday.
