The Alberta government, led by Premier Danielle Smith, recently tabled three bills that, if passed, could restrict the rights of transgender people in the province. These proposed policies are not only anti-trans but anti-evidence.
One of these is Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act. If passed, it would require school boards, post-secondary institutions, independent academic institutions and provincial sports organizations to establish athlete eligibility policies to “protect the integrity of female athletic competitions by ensuring women and girls have the opportunity to compete in biological female-only divisions.”
The government calls the bill “a balanced approach” that would also ensure “transgender athletes are able to meaningfully participate in the sports of their choice.”
However, this legislation would task organizations with excluding transgender and gender-diverse people from fairly and equitably participating in sport. It would also prevent transgender people from taking legal action against the government, institutions or individuals responsible for implementing discriminatory requirements.
Bill 29 has sparked significant concerns. Advocacy organizations are pointing to how it would violate citizens’ fundamental freedoms. U Sports, the governing body for Canadian university sports, has stated it is unlikely to bring future championship competitions to Alberta if the bill becomes law.
Legislation like Bill 29 is based on a widespread myth that transgender women have an inherent biological advantage that threatens the integrity and fairness of women’s athletic competitions. This myth is not based on fulsome........