That day they went shopping and later went for ice cream and sat in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen where Jones told her daughter the conversation of gender identity would be ongoing but at the end of the day they will support her. Up until that point Jones said her daughter would constantly tell her that she felt she wasn’t in “the right body.”
When Jones first heard Alberta’s new policies regarding children and LGBTQ+ rights would include banning gender reassignment surgery for those aged under 17 and on hormone therapy for children aged 15 and under, she was brought to tears.
She immediately started a petition to safeguard transgender children’s rights to bodily autonomy in Alberta. The petition was launched on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m., by Friday afternoon the petition had over 6,000 signatures.
When the news came out she had a sit-down with 10-year-old Samantha to explain the situation, who was passionate about how these new policies “weren’t right.”
“I felt anger, rage, sadness. I had a whirlwind of emotions come through and my first thought was, is my daughter going to be able to start treatment before these policies take effect so that we can at least have her continue the therapy under that stipulation that Daniel Smith put in the policy,” said Jones.
At a press conference on Thursday, Smith focused on the province aiming to attract a specialist to offer medical services so individuals don’t have to travel to Quebec to get surgery, and that restrictions on children’s access are about protecting young people from making irreversible choices.
“I am confident that Albertans do not want children to make irreversible decisions that impact their reproductive health,” said Smith.
No firm timeline has been set for when the new policies would be implemented. Smith said they still had legislation to go through and consultation before the new changes are made.
Jones worries how the new policies will negatively impact the mental health of LGBTQ+ youths who are already struggling with their identity. She is noticing signs of depression in her daughter who has support that most children who are going through a transition need.
“She’s still being affected in her mental health and it worries me that restricting other trans children from going through the process of actually, bringing to the surface who they truly are inside will cause more damage, mental health wise and potentially more suicide,” said Jones.
She said the premier was “hypocritical” and said Smith could not support a child’s journey if she cannot support their choices.
“Children have fundamental human rights and putting in these policies, takes away those rights, takes away their ability to make that choice from them for themselves,” said Jones.
