Latest news with #Bill26
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alberta premier intends to 'battle' injunction on transgender health-care law in court
After an Alberta judge granted a temporary injunction blocking a provincial law that would ban doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth, Premier Danielle Smith said she intends to fight the decision in court. "The court had said that they think that there will be irreparable harm if the law goes ahead. I feel the reverse," Smith said on her weekend radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, on Saturday, a day after Justice Allison Kuntz of the Alberta Court of King's Bench handed down a written judgment on Bill 26. "We want to battle this out, and the way you do that is you go to the higher levels of court. If we were to impose the notwithstanding clause, everything would stop. We actually think that we've got a very solid case." Eric Adams, a professor at the University of Alberta's law faculty, said while he doesn't think the injunction is necessarily a clear sign that a constitutional case could be won, it does mean that lawyers will present strong and credible arguments against the legislation. "This isn't a final resolution of the constitutional issues — far from it," Adams said. "Those are ... possibly even still years away. But the question was: Can the law operate during that period where the legislation is being challenged? And this judge said that, on balance, she's electing to hold that law off until the court weighs in on its constitutionality." Bennett Jensen, legal director of 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale Canada and co-counsel in the case against the province, said getting the law temporarily put on hold has been a "tremendous relief." "I think we've been holding our breath until we got this decision," he said. Responding to the government's decision to challenge the injunction, Jensen said that "the province has been clear that it wants to act in the best interests of young people in the province.... Now we have a judicial decision finding on the basis of evidence that their law will cause irreparable harm to young people, so I think it merits a reconsideration." While the premier indicated the province will challenge the injunction through the court system at this time, she has previously said that using the notwithstanding clause is on the table as a "last resort." "It's certainly one of the tools in the toolkit that the province has been preparing the public for by signalling that they were prepared to use it," Adams said. "The government itself can't simply snap its fingers and have the notwithstanding clause appear. It's got to be put into the law itself." The provincial legislature is not scheduled to sit again until October, which means that the notwithstanding clause could not be included in the legislation until then, at the earliest, he said. The clause was first used in Alberta by then-premier Ralph Klein's Progressive Conservative government in 1998, then under Klein again in 2000. "The last time Alberta considered using the notwithstanding clause, the public reaction against [it] was fairly swift and they stepped back," Adams said. But the politics around the notwithstanding clause has changed a bit since then, he said, with it being used in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. Adams said Friday's ruling indicates the province's fight for Bill 26 won't be an "easy walk through the park," as there are serious constitutional issues to be decided. "We'll see ... whether or not the government has to contemplate whether or not they want to take this out of the hands of judges entirely, because they might not like the direction this litigation is headed in." WATCH | Bill 26 faces legal challenge from Canadian Medical Association:
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Judge grants temporary injunction blocking a transgender health-care bill
Advocates fighting to protect access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth in our province have scored a legal victory. Bill 26 received royal assent in December but hadn't fully come into effect before a judge issued a temporary injunction against the law.
CBC
29-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Alberta premier intends to 'battle' injunction on transgender health-care law in court
After an Alberta judge granted a temporary injunction blocking a provincial law that would ban doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth, Premier Danielle Smith said she intends to fight the decision in court. "The court had said that they think that there will be irreparable harm if the law goes ahead. I feel the reverse," Smith said on her weekend radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, on Saturday, a day after Justice Allison Kuntz of the Alberta Court of King's Bench handed down a written judgment on Bill 26. "We want to battle this out, and the way you do that is you go to the higher levels of court. If we were to impose the notwithstanding clause, everything would stop. We actually think that we've got a very solid case." Eric Adams, a professor at the University of Alberta's law faculty, said while he doesn't think the injunction is necessarily a clear sign that a constitutional case could be won, it does mean that lawyers will present strong and credible arguments against the legislation. "This isn't a final resolution of the constitutional issues — far from it," Adams said. "Those are ... possibly even still years away. But the question was: Can the law operate during that period where the legislation is being challenged? And this judge said that, on balance, she's electing to hold that law off until the court weighs in on its constitutionality." Bennett Jensen, legal director of 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale Canada and co-counsel in the case against the province, said getting the law temporarily put on hold has been a "tremendous relief." "I think we've been holding our breath until we got this decision," he said. Responding to the government's decision to challenge the injunction, Jensen said that "the province has been clear that it wants to act in the best interests of young people in the province.... Now we have a judicial decision finding on the basis of evidence that their law will cause irreparable harm to young people, so I think it merits a reconsideration." Notwithstanding clause a 'last resort' While the premier indicated the province will challenge the injunction through the court system at this time, she has previously said that using the notwithstanding clause is on the table as a "last resort." "It's certainly one of the tools in the toolkit that the province has been preparing the public for by signalling that they were prepared to use it," Adams said. "The government itself can't simply snap its fingers and have the notwithstanding clause appear. It's got to be put into the law itself." The provincial legislature is not scheduled to sit again until October, which means that the notwithstanding clause could not be included in the legislation until then, at the earliest, he said. The clause was first used in Alberta by then-premier Ralph Klein's Progressive Conservative government in 1998, then under Klein again in 2000. "The last time Alberta considered using the notwithstanding clause, the public reaction against [it] was fairly swift and they stepped back," Adams said. But the politics around the notwithstanding clause has changed a bit since then, he said, with it being used in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. Adams said Friday's ruling indicates the province's fight for Bill 26 won't be an "easy walk through the park," as there are serious constitutional issues to be decided. "We'll see ... whether or not the government has to contemplate whether or not they want to take this out of the hands of judges entirely, because they might not like the direction this litigation is headed in." WATCH | Bill 26 faces legal challenge from Canadian Medical Association: Canadian Medical Association takes Alberta to court over Bill 26 1 month ago Duration 2:14 A law that prohibits doctors from using puberty blockers and hormone therapy on youth under the age of 16 is facing another legal challenge.
Global News
28-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
‘Our kids are already struggling': Relief after court pauses Alberta transgender care ban
The families of Alberta transgender youth are breathing a sigh of relief, for now, after a court ruling paused a provincial law banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. The temporary injunction, handed down on Friday by Justice Allion Kuntz, ruled the law could 'cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth,' and that it should be put on hold until the Charter questions it raises can be fully tested in court. It's a ruling that has lessened anxieties for Alberta mom Haley Ray, who says her child knew there was something different about them at just three years old. 2:02 Alberta government argues transgender youth health law in court 'What I learnt from having a kiddo that young is there is a knowing of self that we don't give credit to, and I think most adults don't begin to explore,' she told Global News. Story continues below advertisement Nine years later, Ray's transgender daughter is now at the age where she is using puberty blockers, something the UCP government's Bill 26 would outlaw. The law, which passed late last year but is not yet fully in effect, bans doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to those under 16. 'Our kids are already struggling day to day and made all of these spaces, and so when that was announced and these policy measures were announced and being prioritized by the government, it was blindsiding and it was like, how do we, what do we do with it?' Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In the Friday decision, Kuntz wrote that denying treatment risks causing youth emotional harm and exposing them to permanent physical changes that don't match their gender identity. 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote in the judgment. 'Intentionally or not, the ban will signal that there is something wrong with or suspect about having a gender identity that is different than the sex you were assigned at birth.' 1:36 Advocates report numerous trans youths denied gender-affirming care in central Alberta Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took aim at the ruling in her weekly radio show on Saturday, arguing the courts had gotten the matter wrong. Story continues below advertisement 'The court had said that they think that there will be irreparable harm if the law goes ahead. I feel the reverse,' Smith said. The Alberta Medical Association's pediatrics section says the effects of puberty blockers are not irreversible, and that puberty goes forward after treatment is stopped. Medical associations across the country have also come out against any government proposal to restrict access to evidence-based medical care, including for transgender people. Smith, meanwhile, has argued there is no consensus among the medical community about puberty blockers, citing a recent move by the U.K. NHS to limit their use. 'We actually think that we've got a very solid case, we think we've been measured,' Smith said on her radio show. 'I think we've been evidence-based and we think we're on the side of kids, so we want to see how long the process will play out but we think it's really important for these issues to be debated in court.' 2:05 Albertans rally in support of trans rights at the legislature Sunday Transgender activist Victoria Bucholtz told Global News the law, if it comes into effect, will have devastating effects for trans youth. Story continues below advertisement 'Everyone was surprised that they were wasting taxpayer dollars on persecuting a very small population that really needs support, instead of Danielle Smith barging into doctors' offices telling doctors what they're allowed to do,' Bucholtz said. 'Last I checked, she was a radio host, not a medical doctor.' Butcholtz added that the Alberta LGBTQ2 community won't back down, and has faith the courts will rule in their favour. 'We will be the ones that once again uphold human rights in this country because Alberta queers don't lose these fights,' Bucholtz said. The Alberta government is expected to appeal the ruling. — with files from the Canadian Press
Calgary Herald
28-06-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Groups secure injunction pausing Alberta government's transgender health-care legislation
Alberta government legislation preventing doctors in the province from providing gender-affirming care to minors has been paused under a court judgment released Friday. Article content The Court of King's Bench of Alberta decision granted an injunction application led by Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation. Article content Article content Justice Allison Kuntz, in her written decision granting the temporary injunction, said Charter challenges raised by the applicants over Bill 26, the Health Statues Amendment Act, warrant further legal argument. Article content Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote. Article content Article content The bill, introduced last October but not yet in full effect, restricted certain treatments and surgeries for gender dysphoria for individuals under 18, including a ban on puberty blocker and hormone therapies for individuals under the age of 16, and gender reassignment surgeries for people under 18. Article content The applicants included five gender-diverse young Albertans, aged six to 12, and their parents, in addition to the two LGBTQ advocacy groups. Article content They challenged the constitutionality of the amended provisions, arguing the changes violate rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights. Article content 'This is an historic win, affirming that young people in Alberta and across Canada deserve to live authentically in safety and freedom,' Skipping Stone founders Lindsay Peace and Amelia Newbert said in a statement. Article content 'As we have long argued, the government should never interfere in the medical decisions of doctors and patients or prevent parents and youth from deciding what medical care is right for them.' Article content The province had argued preventing access to puberty blocking drugs for trans children and other measures in the bill is based on evidence suggesting such treatments may be harmful. Article content 'Alberta . . . does not doubt the value of providing care to children facing (gender dysphoria or gender incongruence), but that care must be safe and evidence based,' government lawyer David Madsen told Kuntz at a March hearing. Article content 'That is what the legislation is about. Protecting the safety and long-term choice of children and youth from a risky and experimental medical intervention, for which there is little evidence of benefit and evidence of significant harm in some cases.'
