Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has challenged federal climate policies over the past few years.
A provincial law will ban doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 16. A surgical prohibition already in effect will halt gender-affirming "top" surgeries for minors.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.
Bennett Jensen, legal director at Egale Canada, has previously said they will call for an injunction to protect young people's access to health care while the courts decide whether the law is constitutional. 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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