View From the Legislature

The Manitoba Legislature concluded its spring session in the early hours of Tuesday morning with voting on a number of pieces of legislation. The debate on most of those bills proceeded fairly routinely, with elected officials finding agreement on some laws and ending in disagreement on others. This is what you would expect in a democratically elected legislature.

However, there were a couple of pieces of legislation that resulted in a troubling demonstration by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and the NDP government. The first bill was one that prescribes a day to recognize two-spirit and transgender individuals. This legislation was not expected to receive much discussion as the same federal law had been passed in Ottawa a number of years ago meaning that the day had already been recognized in Manitoba for several years.

However, contained within the preamble of the bill seeking the support of the legislature was a clause promoting youth having agency (essentially self-determination) for gender affirming care. This clause did not define youth in terms of age (it is often considered to be ages 12-21) did not define the nature of gender affirming care and made no mention of parental knowledge one way or the other. In short, the legislature was being asked to provide support for an issue that has become a matter of significant medical and policy debate in Canada and around the world, including in Britain where doctors recently put limits on these treatments, specifically hormone blockers, for youth.

The NDP government has refused to provide any clarity on what its policy is on this issue in regard to age of treatment, type of treatment, or parental consent. As a result, I and a number of my colleagues voted against the bill.

In response, Manitoba’s NDP Premier said voting against the legislation, for this or any other reason, was an act of hate. In doing so, he was suggesting that doctors who have raised these concerns in Canada, the United States and around the world, and the millions of Canadians who have also expressed their concerns in public opinion polls are acting in a hateful manner.

The reality is that Premier Kinew was simply trying to end any discussion and debate on this issue. It is not something he wants to provide clarity on. And yet, ultimately the questions need to be answered from a policy perspective and should be informed by reasonable and thoughtful discussion, not by throwing around terms designed to ignite division and distract from the issue.

A similar response occurred when Progressive Conservative MLAs voted against NDP legislation to restrict people from protesting near abortion clinics. This legislation wasn’t about providing access to medical facilities as it does not limit any other type of protest or picket line. It only restricts someone from having a peaceful demonstration near an abortion clinic. In this way the law is targeted towards a specific issue, rather than towards a general problem.

NDP MLAs again responded to the opposition voting against this legislation by hurling derogatory and hateful comments, no doubt hoping to again stifle meaningful debate and dialogue.

In the very early part of the NDP mandate there is a troubling trend occurring. Rather than being willing to engage in thoughtful discussion about difficult issues, the NDP would rather hurl derogatory comments at those who raise questions on behalf of constituents and Canadians. The hurt that is inflicted from these actions really isn’t on political foes, but ultimately on democracy itself.