Alberta bill on gender will not restrict single-sex spaces: Smith

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OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday that upcoming legislation on gender policies will not include any restrictions on single-sex spaces, but she said transgender individuals who have not fully transitioned should “show modesty” in those spaces.

At a discussion at the Canada Strong and Free Conference on Friday in Ottawa, Smith was asked by moderator Andrew Lawton if biologically male inmates who identify as females would be permitted in women’s prisons in Alberta after her bill is adopted.

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“At the moment, I have not seen anything in Alberta that leads me to believe I have to do anything about this. So, I’m not going in that direction,” she said.

Smith had announced a suite of gender policy proposals in January that included plans to prevent children from medically transitioning to a different gender, or socially transitioning at school, using different names or pronouns, without their parents’ knowledge. She also said she would explore the possibility of making certain sports leagues open to biological females only.

On the subject of public bathrooms and change rooms, Smith told Lawton she had spoken to a transgender individual who had not fully transitioned who wanted to enjoy a spa day with her girlfriends without going in the men’s locker room.

“The issue is modesty,” she said. “If you have not fully transitioned, you should not be exposing yourself in female spaces because no one should know. You should either be behind a washroom stall, or you should show modesty.”

Smith said she understands that women want to make sure that “their spaces are protected,” especially when they are places where they can be vulnerable.

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She later acknowledged that the same principle would apply for prisons, for instance.

Smith’s position differs from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said earlier this year that “female spaces should be exclusively for females, not for biological males” while acknowledging that the decision is mostly up to the provinces or cities.

At the time, Poilievre said “it is unclear” what a future Conservative government might do to restrict public change rooms or bathrooms to biologically born females. He did not mention correctional facilities that can be regulated by the federal government.

“But obviously, female sports, female change rooms, female bathrooms should be for females — not for biological males,” Poilievre said in February.

Ensuring parental involvement in transitioning minors has been a popular cause for conservatives across the country. Smith garnered a round of applause Friday when she said, “you cannot be out to your entire school community, and the only people who are not allowed to know are your parents.”

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Members of Smith’s United Conservative Party supported a resolution at its most recent convention that called for keeping biological males out of female prisons. The resolution is not binding on the government.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who was the first premier to raise the issue of parental consent for minors changing their name and pronouns in school, also touched on the issue during his own sit-down with Lawton on Thursday, arguing that his position had been unfairly framed as “far right.”

“Isn’t it amazing that in today’s world, the ‘far right’ is having parents who are involved?” he said.

Higgs, who is up for re-election this year, also admitted that the issue of parental rights could make or break his government but he said he is willing to risk his political future over a policy that he contends follows Conservative values.

Smith insisted that she is following science, while pointing to a recent review of the medical literature on gender services for people under the age of 18 published by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, called the Cass Review, in the United Kingdom.

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The review found that children have been let down by a lack of research and that there is “remarkably weak” evidence on gender-affirming medical interventions. It also points to the “toxicity” of the debate around gender, which has muzzled health-care professionals.

“So, we’re watching what the emerging scientific evidence is in the world,” she said. “This is science. The left says they believe in science. This is what science looks like.”

Smith would not say, however, if there would be a similar consultation process in Alberta before tabling her bill on gender policies, but said her government is constantly engaged with the public and that it would receive some feedback as it implements the policies.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

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