Overview
- Bill 9 would apply the notwithstanding clause to three laws that limit gender-affirming care for minors, require parental consent for school name and pronoun changes with opt-in sex education, and bar transgender girls and women from female sports divisions.
- The legislation was introduced but not yet passed, and the government says it aims to pre-empt ongoing court challenges and uncertainty.
- An Alberta judge previously granted an injunction pausing parts of the health law, finding potential irreparable harm to gender-diverse youth if the ban proceeded.
- The override would suspend Charter protections in sections 2 and 7–15 for up to five years, while also disabling specified provisions of the Alberta Bill of Rights and Human Rights Act, which the bill proposes without an expiry.
- This is the government’s second use of the notwithstanding clause in recent weeks, following the Back to School Act that ended a teachers’ strike, and medical and LGBTQ+ groups have condemned the new move as an attack on rights.