November 20 2025
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) condemns the Alberta government’s introduction of Bill 9, legislation which weaponizes the notwithstanding clause to restrict the rights of transgender and gender-diverse people across the province. This bill is a deliberate attempt to roll back fundamental human rights.
The Alberta government’s latest use of the notwithstanding clause is an escalation in a worrying pattern of provincial governments overriding the human rights contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Just last month, the Alberta government invoked the clause to violate the rights of teachers. In 2023, the government of Saskatchewan used it to undermine the rights of transgender and gender-diverse youth. And in 2022, the Ontario government attempted to use the clause to violate the rights of education workers—a measure they were forced to reverse after public and private-sector unions mobilized the public against Doug Ford’s attack on workers’ rights.
“Premier Danielle Smith is once again abusing the notwithstanding clause, adding to a chilling pattern of provincial governments treating Charter rights as optional,” said Bert Blundon, President of NUPGE. “Alberta continues to reach for this blunt instrument—first against teachers, and now against transgender and gender-diverse people. If they can come for one group’s rights today, they can come after anyone else’s tomorrow.”
While Smith’s current target is transgender and gender-diverse people, this fight is really about freedom and confronting authoritarian overreach. Decisions about a young person’s healthcare must be left to the youth, their families, and their medical practitioners. Medical professionals are highly trained and use evidence-based, rigorously tested science to care for their patients.
“Danielle Smith’s government has no place in any doctors’ office,” said Blundon. “Those conversations belong to families and medical professionals, not politicians chasing headlines or looking to distract from other issues.”
Governments need to be accountable for the real crises facing people today, like affordable housing, the cost of living, and properly funded public services, including the public health care system, which Premier Smith is actively working to dismantle. It’s also impossible to ignore that the Alberta government chose to table this legislation on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).
This moment is a turning point in Canadian history. We all have a responsibility to mobilize in whatever way we can to reject this dangerous government overreach. In the coming days and weeks, 2SLGBTQIA+ groups and grassroots organizers will be calling for support. Queer Momentum has already planned an organizing call for Wednesday, November 28, and an online petition is circulating widely. We encourage everyone to contribute to the fight in any way they can and amplify the calls to action. It’s happening in Alberta today, but make no mistake: premiers across Canada are watching closely and learning what they can get away with in their own provinces.