Alberta in talks to attract transgender health specialists to province
Alberta’s health minister says her department is working to recruit physicians specialized in transgender health care, but critics say new government policies will push them away.
Earlier this year, Premier Danielle Smith said her government would start working to attract specialists for genital reconstruction surgeries so Albertans wouldn't have to travel to Quebec for care.
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the government was in talks with at least two such specialists. Officials confirmed in an email that no jobs have been offered and discussions are ongoing.
The Alberta government introduced legislation last week that would prohibit doctors from treating those under 16 seeking gender-affirming surgeries. Youth also wouldn't be prescribed puberty blockers or undergo hormone treatments.
Members of Smith's United Conservative Party took the issue a step further last weekend. They voted to urge the government to classify "sex alteration practices," also known as gender-affirming care, as elective cosmetic procedures.
Gender-affirming care is currently covered by the provincial health plan, and LaGrange said no change is planned.
“I have not heard any concerns (about the procedures),” LaGrange told reporters. “We have made a commitment to continue with the adult programs that we currently have available.”
The bill was up for debate in second reading in the legislature Tuesday. Prior to debate, the Opposition NDP tabled letters and petitions from medical professionals, social workers and citizens expressing concerns.
Rakhi Pancholi, the NDP children's services critic, accused the premier of “stoking fear,” denying health care to transgender children and undermining health professionals with “harmful, ideological legislation.”
“She's putting kids at risk, violating their rights and their parents' rights, all to pander to a fringe base,” Pancholi told the house.
Smith, during debate, said the legislation is designed to make sure children don’t make serious, potentially permanent changes that they later regret. She said the government is listening to experts and is committed to lifting up transgender children.
“That concern and compassion does not end with this legislation,” Smith said. “We want to support them in whichever path they end up taking, as long as we make sure that they're not making life-changing decisions that are irreversible as adults.”
Dr. Sam Wong, president of pediatrics for the Alberta Medical Association, said in an interview that minors seeking gender-affirming care aren’t acting on their own accord. Parents have to approve those decisions, he said.
“It's the parents that are making the decisions, not the child themselves,” he said.
Wong said the legislation could have a chilling effect on physicians who feel like they’re being punished for practising medicine.
Asked about the province’s commitment to recruit transgender health-care specialists, he said the policies won’t help.
“If you are a specialist that does surgery in this area … then you see a government that's trying to recruit you, who has legislated against transgender individuals, how willing are you to come here?" he said.
Dr. Jake Donaldson, a Calgary-based physician who works with transgender people, also said he’s skeptical about the province’s commitment to recruiting specialists given its track record with the gender-diverse community.
He also said much of the research used by the province to justify the policies is pseudo-science.
Research from the United States suggests places that have passed similar legislation typically see increased rates of suicide and depression among gender-diverse people, Donaldson said.
“Politicians who are passing and pushing bills like this will indeed have blood on their hands,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trump picks former congressman Pete Hoekstra to be ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Parole board reverses decision and will allow families of Paul Bernardo's victims to attend upcoming parole hearing in person
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.