Alberta MLA compares transgender surgery to livestock castration
CBC
An Alberta legislature member was called on by the Opposition to apologize Thursday after saying the province has a duty to step in to deal with "bad parents" while also comparing transgender surgery to the castration of livestock.
Speaking to reporters, Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said United Conservative backbencher Shane Getson should apologize for "comparing human beings to cattle."
Nenshi added, "No parent in this province wants the premier or her four health ministers, and now Shane Getson, sitting in the diagnostic room with them."
Getson made the remark Wednesday in chamber debate over a bill that uses the Charter's notwithstanding clause to protect a trio of transgender laws from court challenge.
One law bans transgender surgery for those under 18 and prohibits drug therapies, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for anyone under 16.
Currently, national policy restricts bottom surgery across Canada to those 18 and over, and such procedures don't take place in Alberta. Puberty blockers are considered reversible and hormone therapy is considered partially reversible.
2SLGBTQ+ advocates have said the Alberta law is an intolerable infringement on the rights of patients, while doctors say it's a dangerous political intervention in what should be clinical decision-making.
Getson said using the notwithstanding clause to override rights in this case is necessary because some parents need intervention to prevent them from making decisions that may not be in the best interests of their children.
He gave the example of castrating a bull to make it a steer, saying once the animal is a steer, there's no going back.
"You're not going to grow back those parts if you change your mind," Getson said on the first full day of debate on the bill.
"If the steer changes his mind, too late; you're a steer."
In a statement Thursday, Getson added that using the notwithstanding clause ensures the laws move forward without delay or uncertainty.
"We cannot allow this legislation to be paused throughout lengthy court proceedings — potentially putting children at risk for years," he said.
"We will use every legal and constitutional tool available to safeguard the health and well-being of children and strengthen the role of parents as a child's primary caregiver."
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.