Canadian Medical Association files lawsuit challenging gender-care legislation
Aerial shot of the Alberta legislature on Monday, May 26, 2025. (Cam Wiebe/CTV News Edmonton)
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and three Alberta physicians are pursuing a judicial review of Bill 26, known as the province's gender-care legislation.
A statement from the CMA said the bill directs physicians on how to deliver gender-affirming care to people under 18, down to which medications they can use.
'This is a historic and unprecedented government intrusion into the physician-patient relationship and requires doctors to follow the law rather than clinical guidelines, the needs of patients and their own conscience,' said the statement issued Wednesday morning.
The CMA said it has filed an application with the Court of King's Bench for the judicial review of Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 and its proposed changes to the Health Professions Act R.S.A 2000.
Bill 26 was introduced on Oct. 31, 2024, to preserve choice for minors identifying as transgender while refocusing the health-care system, according to the province.
'Medicine is a calling. Doctors pursue it because they are compelled to care for and promote the well-being of patients,' said CMA president Joss Reimer in a statement. 'When a government bans specific treatments, it interferes with a doctor's ability to empower patients to choose the best care possible.
The CMA said the legislation renders physicians powerless in providing independent expertise, clinical guidance and treatment options when it comes to gender-affirming care.
Jake Donaldson, a Calgary-based family physician who provides gender-affirming care to about 40 adolescents, said the legislation has put him and his colleagues in a state of 'moral crisis.'
'These patients are a vulnerable group that already face significant and disproportionate discrimination, violence and mental health challenges,' said Donaldson in a CMA statement. 'Bill 26 commands physicians to stand on the sidelines and watch them suffer.'
Since the bill and other transgender legislation was introduced, advocacy groups and families have protested and taken legal action against the province, arguing that Bill 26 violates gender-diverse young people's section 7 right to security of the person, their section 12 right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and their section 15 right to equality.
Part of Bill 26 prohibits gender-affirming 'top' surgeries for minors which went into effect when the bill received royal assent in December 2024. The legislation also bans puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those with gender dysphoria.
Egale Canada and Skipping Stone, both LGBTQ2S+ advocacy groups, have requested for an injunction to block the denial of health care for gender diverse youth while the bill faces a constitutional test.
Sarah Hoffman, NDP shadow minister of health, said she is pleased to see doctors stand with their patients in opposing UCP law.
'When medical experts and parents agree on safe medical treatment, the government shouldn't be preventing it,' said Hoffman in an emailed statement. 'The new CMA legal challenge to Bill 26 is about defending parental and human rights.'
CTV News Edmonton reached out to the Ministry of Justice for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
12 minutes ago
- CBC
Quebec police suspend search for missing rafter in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge
Quebec provincial police plan to end their search for a 29-year-old woman missing since falling into the Rouge River during a rafting trip on Sunday. Police believe the woman drowned, despite wearing a life jacket and helmet when she fell from the raft for "no apparent reason" on Sunday afternoon. "All signs point to a drowning," Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Marc Tessier told Radio-Canada, speaking in French. Despite an intensive search involving divers, all-terrain vehicles, drones, Jet Skis, a helicopter and staff from the tour operator guiding the whitewater rafting trip, no sign of the woman has been found. Police plan to end the search on Wednesday. The missing woman had been on an excursion run by Rafting Nouveau Monde, which guides about 20,000 clients annually, according to owner Gilles Talbot. He said the company has never had a comparable incident in 45 years in business. The company's operations have been suspended until further notice. "We are focusing all our efforts on the search," Talbot said on Monday. Sunday's trip "was completely normal" before the woman fell from the raft and "never came out," Talbot said. Despite a safety team on the bank per the company's protocol, the woman was never seen again.
CBC
15 minutes ago
- CBC
A heist, a hunt, a gang of female thieves: Kitchener author's new book is a journey through 1920s southern Ontario
Kitchener author K.D. Straus set her new novel, To Be True, in the 1920s. It takes the reader from London, England's high society to familiar Canadian cities. This is the first caper in the North of the Avon series. Straus spoke to CBC K-W's Aastha Shetty about the inspiration behind her first book.
CBC
17 minutes ago
- CBC
Family of Blue Bomber great Milt Stegall mourns death of son, Chase
The family of CFL Hall of Famer Milt Stegall has issued a statement on the sudden death of his 20-year-old son, Chase. Chase Stegall died Monday morning at his residence at DePaul University in Chicago, where he was a sophomore with the school's soccer team. He was the eldest son of Milt and Darlene, and brother to Collin. "It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved son and brother, Chase Hamilton Stegall. Chase lived a life filled with love, kindness, and talent, and his memory will be forever etched in our hearts," the statement says. "We are deeply touched by the outpouring of love and appreciation for Chase and the many gifts he shared throughout his life. Your heartfelt condolences and support mean more than words can express. "As a family, we ask for privacy as we grieve this deeply painful loss." No cause of death has been given. Chase was often seen around the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their old Polo Park-area stadium in the mid-1990s until the mid-2000s. His dad, Milt, who retired from playing in 2009, was one of the most popular Bombers in team history. He played in blue and gold from 1995-98 before suiting up for the New Orleans Saints but tearing his ACL. He came back to the Bombers from 1999-2008 and put his stamp all over the CFL record books. He was named a division all-star eight times, a league all-star six times and the league's most outstanding player in 2002. He holds virtually every Bombers receiving record and is the CFL all-time leader in career touchdowns with 147. "Chase was a bright and talented young man with a promising future, and his loss is felt deeply across our entire Blue Bombers family," said a statement Monday from Blue Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller, whose career with the Bombers was overlapped by Stegall's. Tributes and condolences have also been expressed by the CFL, the league's TV broadcaster, TSN, the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, and dozens upon dozens of fans on social media. Milt Stegall has been a CFL analyst on TSN's studio panel since his retirement. No details about a memorial service for Chase have been announced. "In this time of grief, we take comfort in knowing how many lives he touched and we will continue to honour Chase's memory with the love and light he brought into the world," the Stegall family statement says.
