Transcript
Speaker: I'm Jane Williams. This is the Red Eye Podcast. You can hear our live broadcast on Saturday mornings from 10 till noon at 100.5 FM in the Lower Mainland.
Speaker: On the podcast today, Lauren Chisholm speaks with Faye Johnstone about Alberta's use of the notwithstanding clause to push through anti-trans legislation. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has introduced Bill 9, a piece of legislation that aims to infringe on the rights of trans people.
Speaker: Smith has used the notwithstanding clause four times in the last three weeks, this time to shield three anti-transgender bills from legal challenges and to bypass charter protected rights. In response, queer activists are scaling up the campaign to defend these rights and protect queer and trans people.
Speaker: I'm joined by Faye Johnstone, who is executive director of the Society of Queer Momentum, and I've reached her in Toronto. Hello, Faye. Hi, thanks so much for having on today.
Speaker: Now, Faye, I've heard you describe this as an existential moment. What in these three bills threatens transgender rights and care?
Speaker: So what we're what we're seeing is first the provincial government imposing its will in the family doctor's office. So imagine you're a mom in Alberta whose kid happens to be trans and you are chatting with your doctor. You are no longer able to access the recommended care of that physician if you are looking to access gender-related health services. And so that's really the first area that is perhaps of the deepest concern for us.
Speaker: It's an intervention and violation of the sacrosanct relationship between a physician and their patients. And it's also stripping away the medical decision making from parents and young people in a province whose government loves to talk a big game about freedom and medical freedom. They're actually stripping that freedom away from young people and their families. and that's That's one piece, right? The second piece is in relation to schools. And so you know trans kids being able to come out at school, to be themselves at school, they're now going to require parental permission to use the right name and pronouns in the classroom.
Speaker: Now the problem is that Premier Danielle Smith got to give credit where credit is due. She's a really strong communicator and she's pretending that this is about protecting kids. But what she's actually doing is making it harder for kids to be themselves and creating a false choice between supporting parents or supporting young people when we want governments that lift up families and support kids and their parents to be the happiest and healthiest they can be.
Speaker: Now, Smith, as you implied, is saying that they're on the side of protecting kids and on the side of science. In her words, they're protecting them from medical experiments. what What are medical groups like the Canadian Medical Association saying about the government's interference in medical treatment and health decisions?
Speaker: I mean, I can quote you. They are appalled by what is going on The Canadian Medical Association said that this is infringing on physicians' freedom of conscience, undermining their clinical judgment judge and disregarding the rights of patients to access necessary medical care.
Speaker: The Alberta Medical Association said that all Albertans should be alarmed, that politicians are preparing to intrude on confidential medical conversations and interfere directly in therapeutic decisions.
Speaker: This is not some kooky doctor prescribing a new medical intervention. This is a government overriding because of their political beliefs, the evidence-based care recommended by the Alberta Medical Association, the Canadian Medical Association, and in fact, medical authorities around the world.
Speaker: Well, it's interesting. The bills in them themselves threaten trans people, trans kids. But Alberta Premier Daniel Smith wants to use the notwithstanding clause to deliver this legislation, as she had with back to work legislation for Alberta teachers. Why should Canadians sit up and really take notice at this point?
Speaker: You know, it's really dangerous when we see governments removing checks and balances on their power. You know, i I imagine that a lot of folks listening, they don't understand every nuance of trans kids' experiences, but I think it's really dangerous when governments are getting into the habit of suspending fundamental rights and freedoms. That also means that kids are being denied their day in court. When governments violate rights, we have legal avenues. And I actually think that that court case is integral in a healthy democracy so that Premier Smith could stand up, show up with her experts and put forward her argument, and then a court could make an independent deliberation. It is dangerous for governments to get into the habit of overriding those rights because we have to wonder whose rights are they going to come for next? And what happens to a culture where we redefine freedom to only look like people who look like us, who love like us, and live like some of us?
Speaker: For me, freedom is for everybody. And that includes the Bible thumpers. That includes folks who don't like people like me. But if we restrict freedom, we take away something core to a democracy and to a healthy society.
Speaker: What do we know, Fay, about whether Bill 9, the one that attempts to invoke the notwithstanding clause, would invalidate existing court cases by EGAL and the injunction they want to protect health care for trans youth?
Speaker: So I like to leave the legalese to the legally minded, but I will say, you know the court challenges will continue. and There's also a challenge that's going all the way up to the Supreme Court in relation to Quebec and Saskatchewan's invocation of that same clause. And so I think...
Speaker: you know We have a legal avenue here, but we need to make sure that we exhaust all our options. I don't think we can rely on the legal fight. We need to make sure that the people understand what's going on and that we make clear that freedom-loving Albertans and human rights-loving folks from all across this country oppose the erosion of our rights and freedoms. Because unfortunately, the notwithstanding clause is a really powerful legal shield, But the concept of that clause was that if governments used it irresponsibly, they would have to face a political price. And so we need to make sure that that price is paid.
Speaker: Now, yesterday you had two big organizing calls with people who want to fight back against this. Tell us a little bit about what happened. You know, it was incredible to see, in all honesty. We had over 1,100 people RSVP, and we joined hundreds in calls trying to orient ourselves and put forward a plan to address this crisis.
Speaker: We had moms and dads from across Alberta tap in because they're scared for their kids, and they are scared for their kids' health care, for their kids' safety at school. And what we presented was our plan to respond to this crisis.
Speaker: That plan requires mobilizing to reach people who haven't heard our side of the story. Premier Smith, I said it already, she's a brilliant communicator, and she's not shy about lying to the public to score political points on the backs of kids' rights.
Speaker: And so our plan is to mobilize people in their communities to chat with their neighbors, because in a poisoned political environment, our best solution is to do what generations of progressives have done so goddamn well, and that is to chat across difference to chat with our neighbors. But we also know that we need to reach folks where they're at. That means on their doorstep, but also in their mailbox. We're going to mail flyers to rural Albertan homes, helping them understand that this freedom-loving premier doesn't actually love freedom like she says she does. And we're aiming to get radio ads out so that Albertans, on their drive to work, can hear our message and understand that it's not just trans kids who are impacted by this. It's anybody who believes in fundamental rights and freedoms and who is opposed to government overreach into the private lives of its citizens.
Speaker: And what messages is it important to send to politicians, particularly in Alberta, but also in in all of our provinces? I think across the country, it is becoming politically popular to stomp down on difference and to pick fights with the misunderstood community. And I mean, my message is you know, politicians who believe in freedom and human rights should oppose those restrictions and these attacks.
Speaker: I think that we should rise above this kind of divide and conquer discourse and political strategy. But my other note would be, if you mess around in this space, you will pay a political price.
Speaker: Because Canadians are waking up to the game you're playing, and they're waking up to the threat to their freedom too. And so we will put any politician who comes for our communities, who tries to erode the democracy that I love so much and to impose their ideology on everyday Canadians, we will stop you and we will make sure that you are booted out of office as soon as possible.
Speaker: Faye, I think many people feel scared at these developments in Alberta and elsewhere. What do you say to queer and trans people and parents of trans and queer kids who might feel really overwhelmed by this at this moment?
Speaker: I have a few things. First, I would say you are not alone and you have so many allies and advocates who are and will continue to back you up because you deserve rights and freedoms and you deserve to be safe in your community.
Speaker: I would also say our community has always been out-resourced. There have always been folks with more money, with more platforms who are not... hesitant to lie and and malign and slander our communities. But every single time they do it, we organize, we organize, we organize, and we win better for our communities. We have so much more strength than we realize. Everybody listening to this call has neighbors, has friends and family members. And so the my call to action now is to lean in so that we don't let them tip over this domino that again will lead to a rights erosions for so many other groups across the country. This kind of politic is so scary. They're doing the same thing right now to immigrants and newcomers that they're trying to do to trans kids. And that is to scapegoat us, to turn us into a boogeyman.
Speaker: And we are simply your neighbors who want the same rights and the same freedoms as you deserve. So what are some of the things people can do right now to help with this movement to defend trans rights and to oppose this government overreach? Maybe people who have never seen this as their issue before, but want want to show love and solidarity at this important moment.
Speaker: You know, the unfortunate truth is that we weren't ready for this battle. We weren't ready for governments, whole governments to stomp down on our communities. And so we're rebuilding our organizing capacity. And one of the best things that somebody outside of Alberta can do is chip in with a few dollars.
Speaker: We set a goal to fundraise $100,000 by the Christmas break to help make sure that we can hit up and purchase those radio ads, those billboard ads, and reach Albertans. So if you're listening to this call, I invite you to go to momentumcanada.net forward slash for the kids and ship in because every dollar counts. But that also means that you'll come into our ecosystem. So we'll be able to send you some resources. We've got tools to help you understand these issues and talk to your neighbors about them as well.
Speaker: So my invitation is tap in whatever that looks like to you, because the kids need your support. We told these kids, you know, we told them they get to be themselves. And now governments are taking that space away. It's really scary to be a young person in Alberta right now. And I want to show them that thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have their backs.
Speaker: And I might just take like a tiny little thing from someone who hasn't engaged with this issue before. And that's so much like if what we have to do is you know inoculate the public against the lies of authoritarian politicians like Premier Danielle Smith. If we can reach them and have them understand that trans people are not this scary thing you've been taught we are, we're kind of boring. I mean, like I think I'm fun, but much of my community, we just want to go to our our minimum wage jobs. We want to be able to put food on the table. We are just as scared about the state of the world as everybody else is. And so please don't let them scapegoat us because if they can bring that kind of politics to Canada, I don't know where or when it stops. And I look south of the border and I see a country divided amongst itself. And I see a president who is doing something eerily similar to what Premier Smith is doing. And that's removing checks and balances on government power.
Speaker: There is a rise of authoritarianism around the world. And they're hoping that by starting with trans kids and, you know, shepherding their power over trans kids, that you won't notice or you won't care.
Speaker: So I need you to care. I don't need you to understand everything about those kiddos. I don't need you understand their pronouns or what words they use to describe themselves. What I need you to understand is that they're kids and they don't deserve to be bullied by their politicians.
Speaker: Well, Faye, i i really appreciate speaking with you today. I think it's such an important issue. And really, the time is now for us to get active on this. It's been a pleasure. And I'm seeing the change. And so we're we're going to get through this. We're going to show up for those kids. And we'll build a bigger and better Canada in so doing.
Speaker: Thanks, Faye. Thank you. I've been speaking with Faye Johnstone. Faye is Executive Director of the Society of Queer Momentum. You can find them online at momentumcanada.net. And they also have a petition at stopsmith.ca. That's stop-smith.ca.
Speaker: dot c a You've been listening to the Red Eye Podcast, produced by an independent media collective based in Vancouver. If you enjoyed this episode, it would be great if you left a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other people to find us.
Speaker: Also, please consider sharing this episode with a friend or telling someone about our podcast. To keep up with the show, you can subscribe to Red Eye wherever you listen to your podcasts. And you can follow us on Blue Sky at Red Eye Radio.
Speaker: I'm Jane Williams. Thanks for listening.
