Premier Danielle Smith announced new policies to support children and youth in making choices relating to gender-identity yesterday in a video. In an announcement today (February 1, 2024), Premier Smith spoke out about those policies.  

“Gender identity can be a really emotional issue, especially in the context of children and as we move forward in developing and implementing these policies into law. I hope we can de-politicize the issue as much as possible and focus on the wellbeing of the children involved,” said Smith today.  

The new policies include: 

  • Top and bottom gender reassigning surgeries for minors aged 17 and under are not permitted 
  • Puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children aged 15 and under are not permitted 
  • Minors who are 16 and 17 are permitted to use therapies for gender reassignment and affirmation purposes with parental consent 
  • Parental notification will be required when classroom subject matter deals with gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality 
  • All third-party resource materials or presentations related to gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality in our k-12 school system will need to be pre-approved by the Ministry of Education 
  • For minors 15 and under, a school will require parental notification consent to alter the names or pronouns of a child 
  • 16 or 17-year-olds who choose to alter their names or pronouns at school will not need consent from their parents, but they will need to be notified 

The Government will also be building a registry of medical professionals who are equipped to support transgender people medically. The government is working to develop a pilot project for counseling supports for transgender youth and their families as they work through difficult and complex issues.  

Smith says new policies will also be introduced in sports to ensure fairness and safety.  

“Lastly, we are implementing policies to protect fairness and safety in women’s and girls sports. We will work with sporting organizations to ensure that women and girls have a choice to participate in competitive sport without having to compete against biologically stronger transgender women athletes,” explained Smith.  

The Government will be working to establish a women only division in athletic competitions as well as expand co-ed and gender-neutral divisions in sports.  

You can view the release on the new policies here.