Kelowna, BC – The Government of Alberta has introduced Bill 9, the Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, and signaled its intention to use Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to shield several laws affecting transgender and gender diverse youth from constitutional review. Advocacy Canada approaches this issue from a non partisan and evidence based perspective. What is happening in Alberta reaches far beyond provincial politics. It raises serious concerns about the protection of rights for young people, parents, and all Canadians.
Bill 9 attempts to protect previous legislation that restricts gender affirming health care for minors, limits the ability of students under 16 to use chosen names and pronouns at school without parental consent, and excludes transgender youth from female only amateur sports. These laws do not align with guidance from major medical and mental health organizations in Canada or internationally. The Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health all support gender affirming care as a means to improve mental health, reduce risk, and support healthy development. There is no credible evidence that restricting or delaying care leads to better outcomes. There is significant evidence that withholding support increases the risks of depression, isolation, family conflict, and self harm.
The sports restrictions in particular create wider harms than the government acknowledges. Although presented as protections for girls, the law puts cisgender girls at risk by turning sports participation into a policing exercise. Any girl may find herself questioned if someone believes she does not look feminine enough or fit another person’s expectations of what a girl should be. This places girls in the position of having their bodies, gender expression, or physical abilities scrutinized by adults who may have little understanding of how damaging that scrutiny can be. Girls who are tall, muscular, athletic, or gender nonconforming become especially vulnerable to suspicion and humiliation. The law encourages an environment in which girls are singled out, challenged, or forced to defend their identities simply to participate.
There is no evidence that these kinds of policies make sports safer or fairer for girls. What they do create is a climate of distrust that discourages participation. Girls who fear being accused or subjected to questioning may avoid sports entirely, losing opportunities for confidence building, teamwork, and physical activity. A policy grounded in suspicion does not support girls. It harms them by forcing them to navigate a system where simply belonging becomes a point of debate.
Using Section 33 in this context represents a significant misuse of the notwithstanding clause. The clause was intended as a limited tool for extraordinary situations, not a routine shield against judicial oversight. Invoking it to pre empt constitutional review undermines the role of the courts, which exist to ensure that laws respect the rights of individuals and minorities. When governments begin to suspend rights because doing so is politically convenient, the balance of power that protects all Canadians becomes weaker. If one group’s rights can be set aside, others can follow.
Alberta has framed these measures as empowering parents, but the effect is far more complicated. Parents who affirm and support their transgender children will face new barriers to accessing appropriate care. Young people who are not safe disclosing at home will lose the ability to seek support at school. Families will be treated unequally depending on whether a child’s identity aligns with parental expectations. A rights based approach recognizes that youth have evolving capacities and that parents have responsibilities grounded in wellbeing, not control. Governments should create conditions that help both succeed.
For these reasons, all Canadians should pay close attention to Bill 9. The Charter exists to protect people from the misuse of government power. When a province invokes Section 33 to avoid constitutional scrutiny, that protection becomes weaker. If this approach becomes normalized, the safeguards that Canadians rely on may not be there when they are needed most.
Advocacy Canada encourages people across the country to reflect on the long term consequences of this moment. Public policy should be grounded in compassion, evidence, and respect for the dignity and rights of every person. Bill 9 moves the country in the opposite direction. Trans and gender diverse youth deserve support, not exclusion. Parents deserve policies that help them care for their children. Girls who want to participate in sports deserve to do so without fear of being interrogated about their identities. Canadians deserve a Charter that retains its strength and purpose.
The use of extraordinary constitutional powers should be rare and carefully justified. Bill 9 shows how easily those powers can be used to restrict rather than protect. This is a moment that calls for vigilance, care, and a renewed commitment to the values that strengthen Canadian democracy.
Wilbur Turner
President, Advocacy Canada
November 20, 2025
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Advocacy Canada is committed to defending the rights and dignity of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community through advocacy, education, and community engagement.
