Alberta NDP calls youth policies ‘anti-trans legislation’

NDP House Leader Christina Gray talks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about the first week of the fall session of the Alberta legislature.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Michael Higgins: Let’s start with that trio of bills that mostly focus on transgender youth. You now have a day to review the legislation. What stands out to you from the opposition’s perspective?

Christina Gray: The bills that have been introduced are some of the most anti-trans legislation, anti-sex education legislation, that I’ve seen anywhere in the country and they go against what the prime minister said, that they take away choice and take away rights and put beat. vulnerable children.

Yesterday was a really tough day for many Albertans who feel less safe in this province and who feel hurt by this legislation. Official opposition is strongly, strongly opposed, and we are very concerned about the impact this will have on children here in Alberta.

MH: Where do you think this will leave the relationship between doctors and patients?

GC: Danielle Smith stepped in, so she’s now in the doctor’s office with doctors, parents, patients, taking away their right to choose what is considered in many parts of the world to be best medical practice when it comes to options, when it comes to of access. to puberty blockers when it comes to accessing gender-affirming care.

A lot of misinformation has been introduced into the health conversation. They are talking about eliminating access to bottom surgery, which is not happening anywhere in Canada. They really go further than we’ve seen with anti-trans legislation than any other part of the country.

Unfortunately, we know, with some peer-reviewed studies that have come out, that when any jurisdiction sees legislation like this, you actually see some of our most vulnerable children have increasing rates of self-harm, suicide, lack of residence.

This will hurt the children of our province. We are very, very concerned about this.

MH: How do you think these bills will stack up against the government’s proposed amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights announced Monday?

GC: We have had the opportunity to really look at what this is and even start some of the debate in the legislature, and indeed the amendments are nothing more than desperate virtue signaling ahead of the Prime Minister’s leadership review.

Our fundamental human rights are already protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They cannot be overridden by any provincial bill. The UCP continues to focus on anti-vaccine positions rather than addressing real needs, such as parents seeking proper care for their children.

On both the Bill of Rights and the anti-trans article, I can’t overemphasize that we, as the opposition under Leader Naheed Nenshi, have been talking to Albertans constantly throughout the summer and none of these things appear in the first 50 problems. which Albertans have.

We’re dealing with an affordability crisis, a health care crisis, nurses just rejected the deal. So we’re concerned about future employment actions, public safety, these are the things Albertans want action on, and yet this premier is making choices that are purely selfish ahead of her leadership review this weekend.

MH: There is a unique dynamic within your party right now. Naheed Nenshi, the leader of your party, has a seat in the gallery, while you take the role of leader of the official opposition in the assembly. How do you make this work?

GC: I am very excited to work with Naheed as a leader now. He attends our caucus meetings and we work very, very closely together, but until he has a seat on the floor of the legislature, he has asked me to act as a leader in the assembly.

I am very honored to be asked to play this role and will be asking some of those first questions during question period and working with the largest official opposition in Alberta’s history to represent what Albertans tell us they want.

Issues like health care and housing, public safety, education, where we are the least funded per student in all of Canada. All these important issues with his guidance from the gallery, sometimes maybe from other locations. We are very excited to work with him.

MH: Will there come a time, however, in the short term, when it will have to change? That it is likely that someone in your caucus will have to withdraw and make way for a by-election in which Naheed Nenshi can participate?

GC: Naheed was clear, when the time and opportunity becomes available, he will seek that seat in the legislature, but he is in no rush.

We have seen political party leaders without a seat in the legislature in the past, in fact I think Danielle Smith has been the leader of the opposition Wild Rose for over two years without a seat in the legislature.

So right now, we’re focused on representing Albertans in the legislature, especially with this very self-serving agenda that hits vulnerable kids, that doesn’t respect what Albertans are looking for. That is certainly our goal.

I look forward to having Naheed join us on the floor when that opportunity comes, but right now, the work that we do, we can do very well under his leadership.

MH: What is the NDP aiming for in the outcome of the UCP AGM in Red Deer? Are these policies debated or reviewed by management?

GC: It’s interesting to see what happens because my colleague, Deputy Leader Rakhi Pancholi said it very well when she referred to Danielle Smith as the premier of a party, not a province.

All she did was try to win this leadership vote. I’m curious to see what kind of numbers will come back from this.

I think, in contrast, we know that Naheed Nenshi, in a highly competitive leadership race, secured the support of 86% of the membership of Canada’s largest political party because their membership has grown so much.

I don’t think Danielle Smith will be able to match that. We’ll see if she’ll be able to maintain leadership of this much-disappeared group. She is certainly appealing to its far-right wings in the hope that she will end up remaining the leader.

In the meantime, I think Albertans need a government that respects human rights, dignity, presents the issues they care about, and we don’t have that right now.

I hope that by getting out of leadership we can move closer to something that looks like a sane and rational government in this province.

Prime Minister Smith received 91% support in the leadership assessment.