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Alberta

Premier Smith to Ottawa: Alberta can’t afford thousands of asylum seekers right now

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From Free Alberta Strategy

For decades, Canada’s immigration policies were uncontroversial – parties across the spectrum maintained generally sensible policies.

But the current government in Ottawa has ditched this consensus, and the public mood is turning fast.

A large influx of newcomers has put a significant strain on public services and the housing market across the country.

Alberta, in particular, is feeling the strain, as our province receives both a disproportionately large share of the immigrants arriving in Canada, as well as by far the largest number of people moving between provinces.

Earlier this year, the Alberta government reported that in the year from April 2023 to April 2024, Alberta’s population had grown a record 4.11%, representing 204,677 people.

This is by far the highest annual growth rate in the country, outpacing second-place Ontario by nearly a full percentage point.

Importantly, international migration is responsible for about 68% of the increase, interprovincial migration is responsible for about 25%, and just 8% is caused by natural increase.

Another area of immigration that has significantly increased in Alberta is asylum seekers, which have more than doubled from 5,076 per year to 11,292 per year.

Of course, this represents just a small portion of the overall immigration to Alberta, and Alberta actually accepts a much smaller share of asylum seekers (about 5% of the total) compared with our population (about 12% of Canada).

But, Ottawa is now pushing to change this – they want provinces like Alberta to accept more of their “fair share” of asylum seekers – despite the fact that Alberta already receives more than its “fair share” of other types of immigrants.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Millers says the federal government anticipates full cooperation from all provinces and territories as it strives for a fair and sustainable approach to managing the influx.

He says the federal government has “levers that we need to push and pull” when it comes to enticing provinces to agree to their terms:

“The reality is that Quebec and Ontario are facing disproportionate pressures, compared to any other province in the country – as they have been welcoming the majority of asylum seekers,” says the Minister.

“We will have proper incentives for those willing to welcome asylum seekers, and will take a holistic view with regards to other immigration programs based on participation – as this is work we cannot do alone, nor unilaterally. All options remain on the table.”

In other words, the federal government is once again planning on spending more of our tax dollars to effectively bribe the provinces’ to go along with their policies.

This idea isn’t new – Quebec has already urged the Trudeau government to disperse asylum-seekers more evenly across the provinces.

Premier Smith, however, is saying no:

“Section 95 of the Constitution is clear – immigration is an area of shared authority between the federal government and the provinces.”

“We are informing the Government of Canada that until further notice, Alberta is not open to having these additional asylum seekers settled in our province,” she added.

“We simply cannot afford it.”

Maybe, when the full details of the federal government’s plan are made public, the numbers will stack up.

But, based on past precedent, it seems unlikely.

More likely, this is just another agreement with the federal government that Alberta can’t afford to make.

Time and time again, we’ve seen the federal government approach the provincial government with a deal that – in Ottawa’s view – is good for the province.

We know, as we’ve seen with the nationalized childcare fiasco, that these deals very rarely work out for Alberta.

The Free Alberta Strategy continues to be Alberta’s shield against federal overreach, ensuring that Albertans remain in control of our future.

This issue is just the latest battle in which our unwavering defence of our provinces’ best interests can make a real difference.

If you believe in defending Alberta from Ottawa, join us!

Your contribution will help ensure that the Free Alberta Strategy has the resources and voice it needs to push back. 

Donate today to stand up for Alberta’s sovereignty and sustainability!

Alberta

Danielle Smith confirms Alberta will introduce bill to ban men from competing in women’s sports

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Proposed legislation would apply to ‘all competitive women’s and girls’ sports and all provincial sporting organizations as well as in our schools and postsecondary competitive sporting divisions,’ the Alberta premier said.

Alberta will soon introduce a law that bans gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports, Premier Danielle Smith announced.

“As it pertains to women and girls in competitive sports, proposed legislation will be tabled that prohibits individuals born biologically male from competing against women and girls in competitive sporting competitions,” Smith said earlier in the week in an announcement on her X account.

The new law will mean that women and girls in the province will be protected from having to compete against biological men who claim to be women in all sporting scenarios.

Smith, who leads the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP), said the new law will apply to “all competitive women’s and girls’ sports and all provincial sporting organizations as well as in our schools and postsecondary competitive sporting divisions.”

Smith noted that her government would “support the formation of additional” and possibly transgender-only “coed and recreational divisions so that all athletes have as many opportunities as possible to compete in their sport of choice.”

Smith said that before her new bill is tabled in the legislature she is looking to “depoliticize the discussion and focus on the well-being of the children and youth most affected by these policies.”

Earlier in the year, she said her government was looking to bring forth legislation banning gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports.

Alberta’s new law prohibiting men from competing in women’s sports comes after studies have repeatedly revealed that gender-confused males have a considerable advantage over women in athletics.

Indeed, a recent study published in Sports Medicine found that a year of transgender hormone drugs results in “very modest changes” in the inherent strength advantages of men.

The news of the new bill also comes as the UCP looks to November to bring forth a resolution that calls on the government to introduce a law protecting “female spaces” for biological females and their children.

The UCP under Smith wants to bring forth laws focusing on parental rights as well as protecting Albertans’ general rights.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, part of Smith’s new bill would allow parents to opt their children into sexual education lessons rather than opt them out.

LifeSiteNews recently reported on forthcoming legislation to be introduced by the UCP that includes a provision that would cement parental rights as a “God-given right,” with the goal to prevent government overreach into parents raising kids.

It is expected that the UCP government will introduce its new “Bill of Rights” this fall. The bill contains a slew of pro-freedom proposals, including enshrining the “right to life” into law from “conception, gestation in the womb.”

The bill also includes a section that guarantees each citizen has the “right” to medical “informed consent” as well as the “right” to “refuse vaccinations.”

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Alberta

Danielle Smith hits back at Liberal ‘gender’ minister who attacked Alberta’s pro-family legislation

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The Alberta premier fact-checked pro-LGBT Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien’s condemnation of pro-family legislation, pointing out that children who undergo irreversible gender surgeries and drugs suffer from the repercussions for life.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith blasted a Liberal minister for spreading the false claim that legislation will hurt gender-confused kids.

In an Oct. 1 exchange on X, formerly known as Twitter, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fact-checked  pro-LGBT Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marci Ien’s condemnation of pro-family legislation, pointing out that children who undergo irreversible gender surgeries and drugs suffer from the repercussions for life.

“Premier Smith is doubling down on her plans to target trans youth,” Ien had written. “She says this conversation is only for ‘adults.’ That’s because she knows that if she listened to the people affected by these policies, she would have to face how many kids she is hurting.”

“Do you mean like listening to children going through this, @MarciIen?” Smith questioned, linking to a National Post article highlighting the pain and regret by detransitioners who made irreversible decision to take drugs and surgeries to change their bodies as young teens.

Later, Smith doubled down on her stance, saying, “In Alberta, we believe children should wait until adulthood before making physical changes to their body.”

“Furthermore, we believe in the rights of loving parents to be meaningfully engaged with their children’s education when sensitive issues are taught,” she continued. “And women and girls deserve the opportunity to compete fairly and safely in female-only divisions.”

Smith’s new legislation, which will take effect later this month, far surpasses other provinces in its protection of children and would make Alberta’s parental rights laws the strongest in the country.

Licensed doctors are prohibited from performing sex-change surgeries on youth under age 18 in Alberta. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones will be prohibited for minors under the age of 16 unless the minors have already begun taking those drugs.

Those “born biologically male” will be prohibited from competing against women and girls in competitive sports. Parental opt-in will be required for “each instance” a teacher wishes to discuss gender identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality.

Parental notification is required for “socially transitioning” a student — that is, changing a student’s given name or pronouns. Unfortunately, 16- and 17-year-olds are still allowed to decide to change their name or pronouns in school, but parents must be notified.

While Smith has received severe backlash from LGBT activists, she revealed in February that the new legislation was a result of hearing of the horrors that took place at the U.K.’s Tavistock Centre, the National Health Service’s “gender clinic” for children who believe they are “transgender.”

In 2019, the clinic was exposed for approving “life-changing medical intervention” for children and teens “without sufficient evidence of its long-term effects.” Shortly after, the clinic was forced to shut down.

Smith was especially touched by the story of Keira Bell, who was given puberty blockers and testosterone injections by the Tavistock clinic and underwent a double mastectomy at age 20. She now “very seriously regrets the process” and has joined a lawsuit against the clinic.

Unfortunately, Bell’s story is not unique, as overwhelming evidence reveals that those who undergo so-called “gender transitioning” are more likely to commit suicide than those who are not given irreversible surgery. A Swedish study found that those who underwent so-called “gender reassignment” surgery ended up with a 19.2 times greater risk of suicide.

In fact, in addition to asserting a false reality that one’s sex can be changed, transgender surgeries and drugs have been linked to permanent physical and psychological damage, including cardiovascular diseasesloss of bone densitycancerstrokes and blood clotsinfertility, and suicidality.

Indeed, there is proof that the most loving and helpful approach to people who think they are a different sex is not to validate them in their confusion but to show them the truth.

A new study on the side effects of transgender “sex change” surgeries discovered that 81 percent of those who had undergone “sex change” surgeries in the past five years reported experiencing pain simply from normal movement in the weeks and months that followed — and that many other side effects manifest as well.

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