Hamilton Trans Health Coalition

For links to resources that contain more information and where to find your MPP/MP’s contact information, see the full version of this statement: hthc.ca/whats-happen...

Tell them that healthcare decisions should be made by patients and providers, not politicians.

Send two emails or make two phone calls in support of trans youth and everyone’s right to access healthcare.

Tell them you are opposed to the use of the notwithstanding clause and that you are outraged that Alberta is considering this for a gender-affirming care ban. Ask them to commit to not using the notwithstanding clause to evade Charter protections.

What do we do?

Even if Alberta goes ahead with this, politicians across the country need to hear that we fully and utterly reject this.

Contact both your provincial MPP and your federal MP.

Additionally, the Premier has stated that there will be exemptions, including a grandfather clause for youth already accessing medications. Trans youth in Alberta should speak with their affirming healthcare providers.

What are the implications in Alberta?

This post is intended to educate people in Ontario about what is happening in Alberta and why it should matter to everyone. People in Alberta can follow Egale and Skipping Stone for up-to-date information on potential changing healthcare access.

This means that puberty blockers and hormones could be banned for trans youth in Alberta in the next few months.

Wait, what does that mean?

If Alberta amends their care ban to include this clause when their legislature is in session this fall, they can override the injunction and force the medication ban to take effect.

The notwithstanding clause is a section from the Charter that allows governments to pass legislation that overrides certain Charter rights. A law passed with this clause cannot be struck down by a court for infringing on Charter rights. The law operates notwithstanding Charter violations.

What happened last month?

A leaked memo indicated that the Alberta government had potential plans to use the notwithstanding clause for all three of their anti-trans laws.

This meant that trans youth could continue accessing blockers and hormones for the duration of the ongoing Charter challenge against the law. The goal of the challenge is to strike down the law.

The first lawsuit won an injunction against the medication ban. On the basis of expert evidence, the judge found:

“The evidence shows that the Ban will cause irreparable harm by causing gender diverse youth to experience permanent changes to their body that do not align with their gender identity”

Two Charter challenges were launched against the law. One from non-profits alongside trans youth, and one from the Canadian Medical Association on behalf of healthcare providers in Alberta.

Under this law, these surgeries and medications remain completely legal and available to cisgender youth. The ban applies solely when the surgery or medication is used to affirm a trans youth’s gender.

The ban on medications did not come into effect right away. The law itself bans puberty blockers and hormones for all trans youth under 18. The Premier has publicly committed to some medication ban exemptions via future regulations.

In the fall of 2024, Alberta passed three anti-trans laws. These laws restricted the rights and freedoms of trans and gender diverse people in Alberta in school, sports, and healthcare. The healthcare law immediately banned gender-affirming surgery for trans and gender diverse youth under 18.

What’s Happening in Alberta? 2.0. If you’ve heard concerning or confusing information about Alberta banning gender-affirming care in the news recently, this post is for you! The summary: It’s bad. But trans people and their healthcare providers in Alberta have not given up and neither should we.

Alberta's government may use the notwithstanding clause to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. This post explains what's happening, why it matters, and what we can do about it.

Alberta Exposed: The Secret Plan to Override Albertan's Charter Rights. For months, Premier Danielle Smith downplayed and outright denied any intention of invoking the notwithstanding clause to protect its transphobic legislation from being struck down. Now, behind closed doors, internal government documents confirm their plan to strip away the fundamental rights of Albertans, particularly youth, through extraordinary legal powers. Egale Canada and Skipping Stone call in Albertans - and all Canadians - to see this for what it is: an abuse of power by the government. This action will go down in history as a disgraceful betrayal of the people they are sworn to serve. Call, email and write to your MLA and the Premier and let them know this can not stand.

A quote from Lindsay Peace (she/her) Co-Executive Director at Skipping Stone: "At every step of this legislation, our community has pleaded out to the government to understand the suffering they are causing. At each step, instead of listening to those being harmed, they've doubled down showing they are comfortable trading the lives of children to advance their own hateful ideology. By invoking this clause, they've stolen our province away from us."

A quote from Helen Kennedy (she/her) Executive Director at Egale Canada: "This is an unconscionable attack on 2SLGBTQI people, and a horrific example of state-sponsored transphobia right here in Canada. When our governments abuse their power by invoking the notwithstanding clause to limit the protections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms it's not just an attack on queer and trans communities, it is an attack on all Canadians."

Premier Smith had downplayed & denied any intention of invoking the notwithstanding clause to protect its transphobic legislation from being struck down.

Now, behind closed doors, internal government documents confirm their plan to strip away the fundamental rights of Albertans, particularly youth.

You can find links to statements from these healthcare organizations on our website: hamiltontranshealth.ca/statement-on...

Finally, a reminder that care bans are condemned and gender-affirming care is endorsed by: the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Paediatric Society, every major medical association in Canada, children’s hospitals in Ontario, and the Greater Hamilton Health Network.

For examples of helpful sources of information to consider sharing or reading, see:

We Are Allies – www.weareallies.ca/resources-an...
Egale - egale.ca/rainbow-acti...

Instead, you can post your vocal support for trans youth, and link to resources to educate others about what gender-affirming care is and why it is both evidence-based and medically necessary healthcare.

When you see anti-trans disinformation or calls to ban medically necessary healthcare in media articles, videos, social media posts, or even on billboards – do not do them a favour and spread their message for them.

If you see these advertisements, please do not post images of them online or share their message in any form. This includes local news articles with images of the billboards. Advertisements like this rely on public outrage and backlash to increase their reach to a broader audience.

We are a large group of both trans people and healthcare providers and we will ensure that gender-affirming care is accessible in Hamilton. Billboards do not change our work and they do not change your right to access healthcare.

We feel for the pain that this will cause to local community members, particularly to trans youth. It is not fair that you have to witness the global backlash to your existence appear on billboards so close to home.

Whether this or any other dehumanizing billboard stays up or is taken down, we reiterate our message from when these billboards first appeared:

We see attempts to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for what they are: attempts to restrict or ban the things that support trans people’s existence.

We firmly reject the ongoing attempt to politicize this type of healthcare in our city. This is healthcare that is available to cisgender youth and used without backlash. It is only when this healthcare helps a trans youth grow up to become a trans adult, that billboards appear calling for its end.

A version of these billboards were removed in both Hamilton and St. Catharines recently. It is incredibly disappointing that this harmful message has found a new home in downtown Hamilton.