Earlier this year, I was able to speak with several trans youth and their families across Canada as part of a partnership between Xtra and Chatelaine. The resulting story outlined what it’s like to be a young trans person in a country where provincial governments have increasingly been stripping away the rights of gender-diverse youth. Two of the families I spoke with live in Alberta, where Canada’s harshest anti-trans bills to date were introduced into the legislature last week. When I visited the families in their homes in March, the new bills were still just a proposed set of policies—but it was clear that they were already having an effect on the kids they targeted. Youth and their parents told me about the anxiety and depression they were feeling, about the increased bullying kids were experiencing, and about their fears that it was all just going to get worse.
After Alberta’s bills were introduced last week, I followed up with Catie Jones, one of the mothers interviewed for the original story. Catie’s daughter Samantha is 11, and will be affected by the province’s new rules limiting access to gender-affirming care for youth. We caught up about what has happened since we last spoke in the spring, the impact these bills will have on her family and how families in Alberta are coping.
How have things been going since we last spoke in the spring?
My daughter Samantha started Grade 6 this year. We’ve already noticed more issues at the school level. Last month, for example, her school was doing swimming lessons as a part of their gym curriculum, and there was a parent who called in and expressed their concerns about their daughter using the same change room as my daughter. So that’s started.
Her school’s principal met with me and other parents who had concerns and ultimately the school backed Samantha up and allowed her to use whatever change room she wanted. I was very happy with how the school handled that. But I can tell these issues aren’t going away.
We’ve known that Alberta’s policies were coming for nearly a year. How were you feeling in the lead-up to the actual bills being introduced last week?
In all honesty, I was hoping the government would just forget about them or choose not to bring them forward. After talking to you and a couple other media outlets last year, it was nice to be able to retreat into our own little bubble.
But there have been some reminders. My husband, Chris, is a federal NDP candidate [for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan], and this summer we were at a political event together where [Alberta NDP leader] Naheed Nenshi spoke. At one point Nenshi said something to the effect of, “Come this fall, teachers and parents of trans children, you need to hold on, because it’s going to be a rough ride.” I started tearing up.
How did it feel then to see that the bills had actually been introduced?
I didn’t actually realize that the bills had been introduced until you emailed me asking if I wanted to do a follow-up interview.
Oh god, I’m really sorry.
It’s all good—I’d rather be kept in the loop. It’s not like I’d totally forgotten about them or anything. Not too long ago, Trans Action Alberta, an advocacy group here in the province, had collected more than 10,000 signatures on a petition to stop anti-trans legislation. They also encouraged parents to send a letter to the premier outlining how the policies would affect them and their families. So I sent a letter to the premier and to several MLAs. I said the policies would force my daughter into an even deeper depression, along with many other children. I also mentioned that they had already opened the gender-diverse community—including my daughter—to hatred and harassment. And I pointed out that the policies upset many Albertans and could cost the party votes.
Once I found out the bills had been introduced, I decided not to watch any of the news or announcement videos that day, because I didn’t want to overload my emotional sensors, you know? I waited a couple of days until I was calm and in a mental state where I felt like I could handle it.
How will these policies affect your family going forward?
Since the policies were announced last winter, we’ve met with Samantha’s doctor to discuss gender-affirming care twice. We were hoping she’d be able to start puberty blockers, since kids that are already receiving care will be allowed to continue. But Samantha is right on the cusp. Her doctor has explained to us that you need to have started puberty to access blockers, and Samantha isn’t quite there yet—she just turned 11. So now we’re looking at how we might travel out of the province to get her care.
How does it feel for you as a parent to be making those considerations?
Having to go out of province will be a huge obstacle—and an unnecessary one. If I want to take a more positive outlook on it, though, at least I’ll be an example of a badass parent fighting for their kid. I’ll go to great lengths for my kids. So, yes, it will be expensive, it will be time-consuming, it will be a big hurdle. I have cried when looking at a big hill, but I’ve never not run up it.
@xtramagazine Do you think the trans youth bills introduced in the Alberta legislature last week are bad? Wait til you see what’s on Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party’s agenda next. The UCP AGM this past weekend featured a pile of policy resolutions, including proposals taking aim at trans people using bathrooms, X gender markers and publically funded gender-affirming healthcare. Only a year ago the convention featured policy resolutions that paved the way for last week’s legislation. So there’s a very real possibility we could see some of these new resolutions made law in the near future. And that could set a dangerous precedent for the rest of Canada 🏳️⚧️📄 #fyp #foryoupage #alberta #albertanews #canada #lgbtqnews #trans #daniellesmith ♬ original sound – Xtra Magazine
Days after the bills were introduced, Smith’s United Conservative Party held their annual convention and internally adopted a number of anti-trans policies—including a policy to defund gender-affirming care, and a policy that basically amounts to a bathroom ban. These may not become law, but they do have people worried nonetheless. Have they affected your thinking about the future?
These policies are showing us how broken our politics are. We shouldn’t be focusing on targeting LGBTQ2S+ kids. It’s 2024 and we’ve got people who are struggling to put food on their table. Food banks are being used more and more and more. Unions are being undermined. So why are we focusing on what somebody’s identifying as, instead of focusing on, you know, putting food on people’s tables or supporting worker’s rights?
For now, we have no plans to leave Alberta. We have a lot holding us here, including the fact that we feel my husband could help to make some real political change. But things are starting to get a lot more intense, a lot more heated. I’m very worried about what my daughter’s future is going to look like. And if things get worse to the point that we have to move somewhere that’s a little more accepting and understanding. Hey, you know what? I’ll move.
If you could speak directly to the provincial government right now, what would you say?
That this has just got to stop. What is discussed with my child and my child’s doctors and how they want to live their life is no government’s business.
I eventually did watch a bunch of different interviews that journalists had with Danielle Smith. The entire time I was thinking about how if I had a chance to sit down and have a one-on-one discussion with her, that I would issue her a challenge: I would ask her not to use the phrases, “I feel,” or “we are as a government feel,” because in interviews everything that she says is in regard to her beliefs—she isn’t backing up those sentiments with evidence or science. If she wasn’t able to fall back on just saying what she “feels,” her argument would be completely gone.
That said, I feel doubtful she would listen. I’ve seen journalists pointing out that taking away healthcare will harm gender-diverse youth and their mental health, that forced outing can lead to LGBTQ2S+ youth getting kicked out of their homes, and she seems to just hop out of those. As one of my co-workers says, “You can’t get water out of a rock.” And she happens to be a rock. Not even a special rock like an amethyst. Just a generic rock under my shoe.
Is there anything giving you hope right now?
The fact that Skipping Stone and Egale Canada have said they are going to take legal action against this legislation.
Also some interactions I’ve seen online. I was on Reddit the other day and I saw a young trans person posting asking for advice about how to deal with parents who weren’t accepting. The amount of supportive comments I saw in response to that post was uplifting. I want young people to know there are people out there who will support you and who are actively trying to fight for your rights. Just keep your head up and keep your strength, because, in reality, to be your authentic self, especially at such a young age, is something we should all aspire to.
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