The True Post (Web News) An Alberta court has issued an order temporarily blocking the ban on gender affirming medical care for minors in Bill 26. Justice Alison Kuntz said the law could cause irreparable harm to young patients, so it has been postponed for further consideration.
Bill 26 prohibits the provision of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery to trans youth under the age of 16.
Egale Canada, Skipping Stone, and five Alberta families argued in court that the bill violates constitutional rights (Sections 7, 12, 15).
Justice Kuntz said in a written decision: “This law, particularly when applied to specific groups, is likely to cause them irreparable harm.
It is therefore temporarily restrained from applying without a constitutional review by the court.”
Justice Allison Kuntz said in a written ruling that the law “would cause irreparable harm to young people” and ordered it to be suspended pending a full review of the constitutional arguments in court, because the law raises serious constitutional issues. The legal action was hailed as a historic victory by Egale Canada, the Skipping Stone Foundation and five affected families, who argued that the bill violates the fundamental rights of minor trans people, such as personal safety, freedom from discrimination and equality. The court recognized that such a ban could increase negative social prejudice against young people, and that it would also leave them without the support they need to make physical changes that are consistent with their gender identity.
