Commentary
By introducing Bill 9, the Alberta government is wisely and necessarily using a legitimate section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to opt out of a radical and revolutionary court ruling issued this past June by the Alberta Court of King’s Bench.
At issue is Alberta’s Bill 26, which prevents ideological doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones to minors under 16. An LGBT etc. advocacy group along with other activists are challenging Bill 26 in court, arguing that minors have a constitutional right to these treatments and that government should not “impose” choices on youth.
Such groups apparently don’t object to laws that prohibit minors from voting, driving, smoking cigarettes, consuming alcohol, having sex with an adult, and joining the military. But when it comes to taking puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones, and taking other steps on a journey towards life-altering surgeries that remove healthy body parts, they think that minors actually have a Charter right to make irreversible medical decisions….