(LifeSiteNews) — LGBT activists in Alberta were dealt another significant setback on Friday: Justice Allison Kuntz of the Court of King’s Bench dismissed the application of Egale and Skipping Stone requesting permission to make the case that Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government had acted outside their legal authority in passing legislation that banned “sex changes” for some minors.
Or, as CTV’s Pravda-like framing put it, “Advocates in Alberta have lost a court battle in their fight against provincial restrictions on medical treatment for transgender youth.”
In 2024, Smith’s UCP government passed Bills 26, 27, and 28, banning “sex-change” surgeries for minors under 18 and restricting puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for those under 16; requiring parental consent for “social transitioning” at school; and barring gender dysphoric males from participating in female sports categories, respectively.
Last year, Smith invoked the “notwithstanding” clause to shield the new measures from LGBT activist legal challenges. LGBT activists claimed that because the new legislation includes criminal penalties for doctors who break the law, Bill 26 is a criminal issue and thus falls under federal rather than provincial jurisdiction. Smith argued that the health and safety of youth are a matter of provincial jurisdiction. Justice Kuntz agreed.
“Having determined that the ban falls within Alberta’s jurisdiction, it is unnecessary for me to consider any of the other issues raised by the parties on this application,” she wrote in her decision. Kuntz had previously sided with LGBT groups, granting a temporary injunction against the ban on “sex-change” surgeries for minors in June 2025, stating that Charter issues surrounding the law needed to be examined and adding that the bill could cause “irreparable harm” to gender dysphoric youth.
READ: Pro-life group warns babies are still left to die after failed abortions in Alberta
In December, the UCP government invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.
The two LGBT groups stated that they will appeal the decision. “Every day that (the legislation) remains in force, transgender and gender-diverse young people in Alberta are denied access to medically necessary, evidence-based care,” they stated on April 4. As CTV reported, the two groups claim that the ban “targets gender-diverse youth” by “forcing them to undergo puberty that is inconsistent with their gender identity.”
In fact, one of the first medical professionals in the country to begin prescribing hormones to minors with gender dysphoria now believes that Canada needs a national review of these practices, stating that we simply do not have good evidence for their efficacy and that “with everything I now know, as of now, I would challenge medicalizing the majority of youth that are presenting to clinics.” This bombshell has been almost entirely ignored by the Canadian press — with the exception of the National Post, which broke the story.
“The decision leaves Egale and Skipping Stone with their original Charter challenge against the health-care law,” CTV reported. “But that case is now on hold while the Supreme Court of Canada weighs in on a similar case in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s government has used the notwithstanding clause to shield a law requiring teachers to first seek permission from a student’s parent, if the student is younger than 16, before the student can change their names or pronouns in school.”
Smith has consistently cited the growing body of evidence that highlights the irreversible damage caused by “sex changes” for minors, including the UK’s definitive review of the available evidence laid out in the Cass Report. A UCP spokeswoman confirmed that the government stands behind the legislation.
