More than two dozen students walked out of school on Wednesday, February 7 in protest of the Alberta government’s proposed new policies around trans youth.
The demonstration also included parents and allies of the LGBTQ2+ community. The group gathered to show solidarity with trans youth in Alberta and they marched to let the provincial government know their planned legislation is putting kids at risk.
“Our aim is to express to our government these are not decisions we agree with,” said Dani Yarkowsky-Kerr, a Grade 12 student and member of the school’s GSA (Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Students Alliance) at Jasper Jr./Sr. High School.
“This feels like an attack on trans youth.”
Last Thursday, February 1, Premier Smith announced a new suite of policies aimed at trans youth which included restrictions on trans medical care for teens, pronoun notification policies in schools and cracking down on trans women’s participation in sports.
Experts and members of the queer community say the policies are stigmatizing and do not reflect the best practices and standards of healthcare for trans youth.
Queer ally, local business owner and co-chair of the Jasper Pride Society, Lynn Wannop, helped organize Wednesday’s demonstration at the high school. Wannop called the proposed policies “archaic” and told those gathered to walk with courage, speak with conviction and stand for what’s right.
“We’re walking out today to let Danielle Smith know we’re not going to stand down,” she said, rousing a cheer from those gathered.
Mollie Lalonde is a local teacher and a parent to a child who identifies as trans. Lalonde agrees with experts who say the planned policies around pronoun notifications undermine her as a professional, and add to trans kids’ already-heavy burden.
“As teachers we prioritize children’s health, well-being and safety,” she said. “We work with families, we have policies in place that govern our profession. These [proposed] policies may put a child in danger because they might cause me to go against my professional judgement.”
The proposed legislation, announced via Twitter as “policies to support children and youth as they grow into adults,” includes banning gender-affirming surgery for those under 18, and disallowing the use of puberty blockers and and hormone replacement therapy for anyone under 15.
But experts say these precedent-setting policies are only being introduced to stoke the fears—and the votes—of a small minority of an increasingly vocal far-right base.
“To use medical treatment of young people as an excuse to mount a politically-motivated attack on gender-affirming health care will put the lives of young people at risk,” the United Nurses of Alberta said in a statement.
Piper Davis is a member of Jasper Jr./Sr. High School’s GSA. Davis said there were many parts of Premier Smith’s announcement that were cause for concern, not least is the proposed policy on outing students in the name of “parental rights.”
“I’m not ok with that,” Davis said.
News of the government’s proposed policy is making waves across the country. Mel Woods, a journalist who grew up in Red Deer and who discussed the legislation at length recently, is concerned that American-style anti-trans legislation is making its way into Canada.
“They are introduced to keep governments in power at whatever cost, and in many cases, come from a perspective aimed at eliminating trans people altogether,” they wrote.
Wednesdays protest, Wannop said, was in part to show Danielle Smith that the queer and trans community is not going away.
“You are loved and are worth it,” Wannop said.
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
