EDMONTON — Alberta is invoking the notwithstanding clause to protect three laws affecting transgender youth and adults from further court challenges, marking the second time the province has used the clause in less than a month. The government introduced Bill 9 on Tuesday to shield legislation that had been partially halted by an injunction earlier this year.
The measures include restrictions on gender reassignment surgery for minors, a ban on providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy for gender reassignment to anyone under 16, and new rules requiring parental consent before schools use different names or pronouns for students younger than 16. Another law covered by the clause bars transgender girls from participating in amateur female sports.
The province argues the laws are aimed at safeguarding children and ensuring parental involvement, while critics say the legislation violates constitutional rights and deepens discrimination against transgender and gender-diverse people. Advocacy groups previously launched a legal challenge against the care restrictions, with a judge ruling the law raised serious issues that warranted a full hearing.
Officials have not released an implementation timeline, but the province says minors already receiving puberty blockers or other gender-affirming treatments will be allowed to continue. The move follows Alberta’s use of the notwithstanding clause in October to end the provincewide teachers strike, a decision that also prompted a court challenge from the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
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