2SLGBTQ+ Youth

Vulnerable Minority

St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron believes that her city prides itself as a welcoming and inclusive municipality towards its 2SLGBTQ+ contingent, its youth in particular. She’s received an earful from other mayors across Alberta having to deal with their own citizens railing against everything from COVID restrictions to gay and transgender issues, and is relieved that such incidents are rare within her jurisdiction.

“We don’t see a lot of the same hatred towards groups like LGBTQ in St. Albert,” Heron said. “It was interesting to see what was going on around the province, and hear my mayor friends lament about them going through a hard time. But in St. Albert, we didn’t have any of that.”

Heron credits several initiatives supported by the city for such an environment, from unfurling the 2SLGBTQ+ flag during Pride Month to providing an online listing of resources and safe spaces. Although a funding crunch shuttered the local Outloud gay and transgendered resource centre last June, volunteers and businesses continue to maintain the rainbow crosswalk in front of St. Albert Place, a project spearheaded by the organization.

But Heron is more concerned about what’s taking place beyond the city’s boundaries. “Outside of St. Albert, I am very fearful,” she said.

Wave of hostility

That trepidation seems warranted considering an escalating wave of hostility targeting the 2SLGBTQ+ minority. Hate crimes aimed at gay and transgendered people have tripled over the past five years in Canada. Protests condemning sexual identity materials in schools have multiplied. Symbols of queer acceptance in the mainstream—from crosswalks to flags—have regularly been subject to scorn and vandalism. And not to be dismissed is anxiety that recent U.S. policies rescinding protections of gay and transgender rights will waft northward.

Similarly, a series of policies introduced in January, 2024 by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith places 2SLGBTQ+ youth in the government’s crosshairs. Once passed into law, the regulations would outlaw top and bottom surgeries for youths under 19 and puberty blockers and hormone therapy treatments to minors younger than 15. The rules would also ban children 14 and under from adopting new names and pronouns without parental consent and forbid transgendered women from competing in women’s sporting events.

“The changes we’re introducing are founded on compassion and science, both of which are vital for the development of youth throughout a time that can be difficult and confusing,” said Premier Smith about the proposals during a media conference.

Punching down

The policies, which at this writing have yet to become law, prompted St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud to question provincial government priorities. “At a time when Alberta is struggling with affordability and just making ends meet, [the UCP] chose to use a good chunk of their legislative agenda time to punch down on LGBTQ youth.”

The forthcoming UCP directives also enticed far-right factions to take some shots of their own. Tweeted David Parker, leader of radical lobbyists Take Back Alberta, “Teachers of Alberta, you no longer have permission to indoctrinate our children into your ideology.”

“There are many parents that are pleased right now, in part because of Danielle Smith’s comments about parental rights and healthy boundaries,” said activist Benita Pedersen—who’s successfully campaigned to have towns like Westlock and Barrhead remove gay and transgender symbols from public view—on the Lavigne Show podcast.

“With these new policies, a Canadian premier has essentially told the seemingly unstoppable transgender movement to stop in its tracks and leave Alberta kids alone,” declared Jeff Gunnarson, president of pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition.

Life or death

“There are some obvious risks that come along with the legislation that has been proposed,” said Star Goldring, the Rural Fyrefly in Schools Program Coordinator at the University of Alberta-based Fyrefly Institute for Gender & Sexual Diversity. The transgendered researcher particularly took issue with Smith’s stance on surgeries for minors, given that Alberta Health Services reported only eight chest surgeries were performed to address gender dysphoria in youths in 2022-23. Bottom surgeries for minors have long been forbidden nationally in accordance with World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards.

Goldring is more concerned that the policy would eliminate parental and physician decisions regarding gender-affirming care. “It sets a precedent where government officials can override medical authority,” they said, believing the legislation opens doors for the UCP to target women’s health care and reproductive rights. “If we are agreeing to situations where politicians can say that they know better than medical professionals, we are saying that we are condoning a move where a political party can remove the need for health care in any environment.”

Goldring pointed out that legislation banning medical assistance for transgendered citizens in various states in the U.S. have produced tragic results, including a staggering 72 percent increase in suicide rates among trans youth in Tennessee.

That to me is very alarming. We know that this is a life or death issue.

Star Goldring, the Rural Fyrefly in Schools Program Coordinator at the University of Alberta-based Fyrefly Institute for Gender & Sexual Diversity.

Human rights violation

Since news broke regarding the government’s transgender policies, Renaud’s office has had to endure a deluge of angry and even hateful anti-2SLGBTQ+ responses. But what really got to her was a great deal of sobering feedback from distraught schoolchildren.

The saddest things are when I hear from students. I’ve received letters from whole classes of students talking about their peers and their friends that they’re worried about. Those letters stick with you, so I’m concerned.

Marie Renaud

Goldring believes regulations calling for teachers to inform parents about student pronoun choices would flout the idea of schools as a safe place for kids to explore their identities. “When you understand that the risk is that kids are going to get kicked out of their houses, potentially have no place to live, lose the social support of families, all those kinds of things, you’re putting teachers in a position of forcing that upon children,” they said, citing a Homeward Trust stat that 40 percent of Edmonton’s homeless are queer. “It’s a real violation of their human rights.”

Goldring is also concerned about another policy requiring parents to provide explicit consent for their children to attend human sexuality and gender identity classes, replacing a simpler opt-out procedure. Given that the alteration would likely result in fewer students taking such classes, Goldring believes the change hurts the youth at large.

“We know that where we do not have access to information on gender and sexual diversity and sexual health, which is part of this, that we put kids at risk,” they said. “And that’s not just 2LGBTQ+ kids, that’s all kids becoming greater risk for STIs, unwanted pregnancies, all of those kinds of things.”

Inclusive community

Restrictive legislation aside, St. Albert has managed to so far avoid a rash of headlines concerning violence against the marginalized contingent. Although Statistics Canada reported in 2023 that hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation jumped by 69 percent across the country over the previous year—triple the tally from 2019—the city seems to have escaped all that, despite a few exceptions.

In January, police were investigating a trio of demonstrators with racially-charged placards that Renaud said on social media were “disturbing” and “hateful,” although none of them targeted gay and transgender citizens. However, in 2023, police were looking for individuals who distributed anti-2LGBTQ+ literature at schoolyards.

Heron recalled a number of incidents involving motorists leaving skid marks on the St. Anne Street rainbow crosswalk, one of which resulted in a fine against a perpetrator in 2023. On each occasion, volunteers quickly repainted over those invasive treads, an act Heron believes is testament to the city’s open-hearted spirit.

“St Albert continues to strive to be that welcoming, inclusive community,” she said. “I think if there are residents out there that are fearful for their safety, then council and myself are always open to conversation to see what we can do to help.”

NOTES: David Parker of Take Back Alberta could not be reached for comment. Benita Pedersen did not respond to requests for an interview. Jeff Gunnarson of the Campaign Life Coalition declined to be interviewed. t8n