The Bills
Bill 26
- All gender reassignment surgeries for minors aged 17 and under will be prohibited.
- The use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for the purpose of gender reassignment or affirmation will not be permitted for children aged 15 and under, except for those who have already commenced treatment.
- Mature teens, aged 16 and 17, may only choose to commence puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender reassignment and affirmation purposes with parental, physician and psychologist approval.
Bill 27
- Parents must be notified and opt in to any instance when a teacher provides formal instruction on subject matter involving gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.
- All third-party resource materials or presentations related to gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality available in Alberta classrooms must be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education to ensure they are age-appropriate.
- Parents must consent for their child aged 15 and under to alter their name or pronouns used by school teachers, administration and other educational staff.
- Parents must be notified for their child aged 16 or 17 to alter their name or pronouns used by school teachers, administration and other educational staff.
Bill 29
Bill 29 protects the rights of biological girls to compete only with other girls. Though the differences between men and women may not be important in some sports, the physical advantage male bodies have in other sports such as football, boxing and hockey, make it dangerous for biological girls to participate.
Contact your MLA
Alberta's MLAs need to know that we SUPPORT the legislation because they hear from those who oppose it. Contact your MLA by phone, in-person or by e-mail. Use ARPA's website which will make it easier to send a personalized letter. Then, let us know which MLA you've contacted so we can ensure every MLA is contacted.
On-line Training Pt2
The MLAs we have contacted so far have said they are getting many messages to oppose the common sense parental rights legislation. We need to have as many people contact their MLA to support the bills. Join John Hilton-O'Brien of Parents for Choice in Education and others, to learn how to reach your MLAs.
Concerns with Bill 27
Parents for Choice in Education have raised important concerns about Bill 27. We need to ask the government to ensure parents know everything that is going on with their students. Read this article and share it with your MLA.
Responding to Opponents
Opponents of these bills are making arguments that are simply untrue. We refute many of the arguments below:
Do we care about Kids? Yes we do! Responding to Opponents of the Legislation
1. “Making any education about sexual orientation, gender identity, or human sexuality require parental notice and for parents to OPT-IN will undermine not just education that teaches human rights and that it’s OKAY to be gay, trans, or 2SLGBTQ+. It will also undermine all sex education - practical and essential knowledge that prevents childhood sexual abuse and which every kid has a right to learn about.”[1]
Response:
This is one of the most disturbing claims of those opposed to the legislation because Alberta Education has always included a partnership with parents. To suggest that parents should not know what their children are learning on any topic takes away the fundamental right of kids to be protected by their parents. Besides, parents already have a right to know what their children are learning on any topic and this has not led to more sexual abuse, suicide or other harms.
The government mandate for the education department already acknowledges the right of parents to be involved in every part of the provincial curriculum. It states:
- Working collaboratively with parents, teachers, and stakeholders to continue to implement K to12 curriculum, and implement additional basic life and home maintenance skills as well as financial literacy training into the high school curriculum where appropriate.[2]
2. “I want to believe that most parents are good parents who, of course, want to know what’s going on in their children’s lives and would learn and support their kid if they came out as 2SLGBTQ+. But policies have to be made with the most vulnerable in mind, and take into account that some parents are homophobic, transphobic, and abusive.”
Response:
There are already laws in place that protect kids from harmful parents. In fact, according to the Alberta Children and Family services website, “Alberta’s Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act requires anyone who believes a child is at risk to report their concern.[3]” It goes on to say, “The Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act provides authority for Child and Youth Services to provide services in support of children who are abused, neglected or otherwise in need of intervention. As a last resort, the Act allows for children to be apprehended if they are not safe in their own homes...[4]” Of course, this means children who come out as LGBTQ have the same legal protections as any other child. This argument provides no evidence that another law is needed.
3. “Forcing teachers to out youth who are questioning, exploring, or transitioning in their gender identity to their parents creates an incredibly dangerous situation for vulnerable kids. Let’s trust kids to know their parents and know if and when it’s safe to come out to them.
Response:
The assertion that Alberta parents are a danger to their children because they know about their child’s sexual or gender identity assumes that kids can only be protected by schools, peers or even strangers. There is no reason to suggest that Alberta’s parents aren’t loving or supportive of their children. No one loves a child like mom and dad.
The argument also assumes that parents must agree with every decision their minor children make in order to care for them. But parents disagree with their children’s decisions all the time and do so because they love their children. This is why parental rights are guaranteed in Alberta law. As adults, parents understand the consequences of decisions that children do not have the capacity to. Living as another gender apart from your biological body is a life-altering decision, especially if it involves medical intervention. With every other medical issue (except abortion), parents are legally required to be involved in their child’s life.
The argument also makes no distinction between a six-year-old child and a sixteen-year-old child. It advances polices that would allow children as young as five or nine to declare their gender identity without guidance and support from those who know them best: their parents. Yet any good parent knows that children do not fully understand what they are choosing. This is why we don’t “trust” kids at that age to choose their bedtimes or meals. Why would you “trust” them to choose their identity if they can’t choose to eat ice cream for lunch?
4. “It’s well established that gender-affirming healthcare saves lives. There’s also no such thing as under 18 bottom surgery in Canada. Transgender people access care in a step by step way with doctors, counselling, and due diligence at every stage.”
“More youth will die by suicide if they are cut off from hormones or puberty blockers and prevented from living as the gender that fits them.”
Response:
The studies are inconclusive at best and deceitful at worst. These studies rely on a small sample size (there was not enough people interviewed to make a conclusion), did not follow the long-term health of patients, and often ignored or even covered up conclusions that did not agree with activists’ conclusions. An extensive study by doctors and other medical experts lays out major problems with this assertion:
Those of us who support the government legislation want all kids to be safe and healthy. We do not want any child do commit suicide. Putting aside the debate on transitioning children, we should all be able to agree that a child who is willing to kill herself because she does not get what she wants, is not well. That child deserves all our support to live by helping her see that killing herself because parents may disagree with her on a difficult issue, is never the solution.
[1] https://www.antihate.ca/letter_to_danielle_smith
[3] https://www.alberta.ca/children-and-family-services
Members of our Coalition
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Redeeming Conversations.ca
RC is a Christian apologetics ministry based in Calgary, Alberta.
AllFiredUpForFreedom.com
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Supporting events and initiatives for the protection and restoration of individual rights, individual freedoms, and individual responsibilities.
Detrans Alliance Canada
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Detrans Alliance Canada
An alliance of former transgender people who have now returned to their biological sex. Find them on Facebook.
Alberta Parents' Union
Redeeming Conversations.ca
Detrans Alliance Canada
The Alberta Parents’ Union advocates for the best possible education for all Alberta students - whether that be public, separate, francophone, alternative, charter, independent, or home education.
We are parents (and also grandparents, guardians, and even some teachers) of K-12 students all across our province.
We aim to empower parents wit
The Alberta Parents’ Union advocates for the best possible education for all Alberta students - whether that be public, separate, francophone, alternative, charter, independent, or home education.
We are parents (and also grandparents, guardians, and even some teachers) of K-12 students all across our province.
We aim to empower parents with the information and tools they need to ensure every child in Alberta achieves their full potential.
Members of our Coalition
Alberta Muslim Social Association
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
Alberta Muslim Social Association
Parents for Choice in Education
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
Alberta Muslim Social Association
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform