Hello everyone, I’m Mark Iype, now in Edmonton.
Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta spent a portion of this week selling her state’s energy sector and its bonafides to political figures in Ontario and next south of the border. She initially spent time in Ottawa before moving on to Washington.
And it was probably a good time to move away from the burgeoning culture war and return to what the state is best known for, oil and gas, after releasing her administration’s plan on trans rights the week before and setting fire to those opposed to her proposals.
However, the conversation wasn’t just quieted by that.
The proposals were criticized by federal employment minister Randy Boissonnault before Smith’s meeting on Monday, calling them “the most harsh and damaging policies for younger people in the country.”
Smith defended her strategy after their talk, calling it “balanced.”
At a reception hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network, formerly known as the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, thousands of demonstrators gathered that night outside the location where Smith was scheduled to speak.
However, hundreds of students from Alberta walked out of school on Wednesday as Smith convened meetings in Washington to protest the new proposed procedures that may affect everything from who gets to contend against who in sports to sex education in schools to how children access gender-affirming treatment.
“It’s merely an infringement on human rights. Yomade Akapo, 16, said, “It’s absolutely disgusting that she could do that to hundreds of transgender children.” “She doesn’t seem to understand how she is affecting these children’s mental health, in my opinion.
Pierre Poilievre, the head of the Federal Conservative Party, also backed Smith and her proposed policies. Poilievre said the government should protect the rights of parents to make decisions for their kids, especially referring to the use of puberty blockers by children.
He stated, “I believe we should support kids in their capacity to make adult decisions when they are adults.”
Later that afternoon, in response to the remarks made by the opposition leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a statement.
“The right of parents and their children to make the best decisions for them with their physicians are being taken away,” according to Mr. Poilievre and Ms. Smith. “Government shouldn’t be acting in that way,” he said.
Smith has repeatedly expressed her hope that the discussion of her contentious policies won’t become politicized, but it appears that this dream came true as soon as she released the video outlining her strategy last week.
Counties constantly set rules for the treatment of gender dysphoria, The Globe and Mail argued in its editorial this week, citing the regulations established in Nova Scotia and British Columbia that are similar to Smith’s proposal. “They let their health ministries act independently of explicit political interference,” is the distinction.
The editorial board contends that her policies might not have sparked outrage if she had even when in her video stated that experts in the Ministry of Health had informed her judgment or cited only one study that showed she understands the present state of trans health care.
But of course, she didn’t, making it abundantly clear that her dangerous plans have nothing to do with children’s health and are entirely political in nature.
This is the regular Western Canada publication that Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype and B.C. Editor Wendy Cox write. You can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters if you’re reading this online or it was forwarded to you from someone else.
