Alberta to Release Parental Rights Bill This Week, Premier Says

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to the media in Calgary on Sept. 18, 2023. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta will introduce parental rights legislation this week that attempts to balance the rights of parents with supporting the needs of children, Premier Danielle Smith said during a weekend radio appearance.

Ms. Smith, in responding to a caller’s question during the “Your Province. Your Premier” Jan. 27 radio show, said parental rights would be addressed in the upcoming bill, although she did not get into specifics about which issues would be addressed by the legislation.

“How do we make sure that we’re supporting children as they grow into adults to become the people they want to be [while] making sure that parents also have the right to ensure that materials and education and exposure to some of these discussions happen at an age-appropriate level?” she said.

She added that the United Conservative Party (UPC) has had “a lot of conversations” and “consulted very broadly” on the issue.

UPC members voted in favour of a resolution last November that would require teachers and school boards to obtain the written consent of the parent or guardian of a student under the age of 16 prior to changing the child’s name or pronouns at school. Another resolution voted on during the membership meeting would require that students don’t have access to age-inappropriate sexual material at school.

Although the proposed policy resolutions are non-binding and do not have to be adopted by the party leadership, Ms. Smith made it clear in a speech at the November meeting that her party supports parental rights.

“I want you to know that parental rights and choice in your child’s education is and will continue to be a fundamental core principle of this party and this government, and we will never apologize,” she said.

Comments made during her weekend radio appearance seemed to reinforce her November speech.

“I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with parents wanting to protect the child’s innocence as long as possible on issues of sexuality,” she said. “I think that that’s a good instinct.”

She said she was hopeful future discussions of the issue could be depoliticized so that the “right balance” could be found.

Parental Rights Bills

Alberta is the latest province to mull the issue, as Saskatchewan and New Brunswick recently adopted new legislation on parental rights, making parental consent necessary before a child under the age of 16 can use a different gender identity or pronoun at school.

Saskatchewan passed Bill 137 last October following two months of heated debates in the legislature. The bill, which received royal assent on Oct. 20, also requires schools to inform parents when sexual education content will be presented in their child’s class and gives parents the right to pull their kids from the class by providing written notification to the principal.

The government also plans to implement a support system for students who are not ready to talk to their parents about their preferred gender identity.

New Brunswick announced its parental rights law last June. Aside from students under the age of 16 needing parental consent to change their names or pronouns in school, the new policy requires schools to talk to students about contacting their parents on the issue, or direct students to mental health professionals.

New Brunswick’s education minister Bill Hogan said the province had to find a solution “where we do not exclude parents in their child’s life.” He said the policy is “taking a strong position for families.”

Public Perception

A national poll, conducted by Leger on behalf of think tank SecondStreet.org last May, found that three in five adults surveyed said that parents must be involved if their child discusses changing their gender pronouns or “transitioning” at school.

A total of 57 percent of those surveyed said schools should let parents know about their child’s desire to change gender or have new gender pronouns. Only 18 percent, less than a fifth, of those surveyed disagreed with this idea, while 25 percent didn’t know. When broken down between those with children and those without, 62 percent of parents said schools should have to keep parents informed compared to the 55 percent of adults who did not have children.

SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig, at the time of the poll, told The Epoch Times he was not surprised by the results.

“By a margin of about three to one, Canadians believe that parents want to know if their children are having any kind of struggles,” he said, adding that it’s likely that more provinces will have to face the same issue.

“The way that schools are operating conflicts with where the public opinion is. So we’re going to see butting of heads,” he said. “Schools cannot even give a child a Tylenol without a parent’s permission. So it’s strange that a school can engage in a deep psychological intervention with a child without telling the parent.”