Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not support puberty blockers being given to Canadians under the age of 18.
“I think we should protect children and let them make adult decisions when they become adults,” Mr. Poilievre said on Feb. 7 in response to questions from reporters in Ottawa on his stance on puberty blockers for minors.
“You are against puberty blockers for kids under the age of 18?” a reporter asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Poilievre responded.
Mr. Poilievre was being questioned on the Alberta government’s new medical transition policies for children announced on Jan. 31. The policies decree that gender reassignment surgeries will not be permitted for those aged 17 and under and that those 15 and under will not be permitted to take puberty blockers or hormone therapies as part of gender reassignment treatment.
The new policies will also require schools to obtain parental approval for students aged 15 and under who want to be referred to by different pronouns or names. For 16- and 17-year-olds, only parental notification is required but not parental consent.
Additionally, the rules will modify how schools teach about gender identity, sexual orientation, and human sexuality, requiring parents to be notified and to opt in “for each instance a teacher intends to give formal instruction on these subjects.” As well, all third-party resource materials or presentations related to these subjects in Alberta’s K-12 school system must be pre-approved by the province’s Ministry of Education to ensure these materials are age-appropriate.
The policy announcements have met with criticism from the federal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Alberta premier of fighting “against vulnerable LGBT youth.” And Edmonton MP and federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said the proposed policy requiring transgender-identifying children to get parental consent if they wish to change their pronouns amounts to “mandating that schools force kids out of the closet before many of them are ready.”
Mr. Poilievre said it was “a decision for the provinces” to make when asked whether he supports policies requiring parental permission for their children to be taught about gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation.
At a press conference in Montreal on Feb. 6, Mr. Poilievre also criticized the prime minister and some reporters for what he said were attempts to spread “disinformation“ about Alberta’s proposed policies and to intentionally describe the policies in vague terms. He suggested that by failing to describe the policy proposals in specific terms, reporters were attempting to misrepresent both the policies themselves and the Conservatives.
