EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says using the notwithstanding clause to shield her government's transgender health restrictions is on the table as a 'last resort.
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says using the notwithstanding clause to shield her government's transgender health restrictions is on the table as a"last resort."
"Because I feel so strongly about protecting kids' right to preserve their fertility until they're adults, we would, as a last resort, have to use the notwithstanding clause."She explained Saturday that she does not want to use the clause because doing so suggests to her that lawmakers haven't been careful enough.Smith, when asked if she was willing to use the notwithstanding clause as recently as Dec. 4, was noncommittal, saying she didn't want to prejudge the courts.
It comes as two LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, Egale Canada and Alberta-based Skipping Stone Foundation, along with five families, are challenging the law in court. Lawyers on both sides are expected to appear for the first time at a Court of King's Bench of Alberta hearing scheduled for Monday in Calgary to hash out the next procedural steps in the case.
A similar law governs school policy in Saskatchewan, where the government invoked the notwithstanding clause last year.
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