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Saddle Lake Cree Nation to provide gender-affirming care despite Alberta ban
Saddle Lake Cree Nation has announced plans to establish a safe haven for gender-affirming medical care on its territory, directly challenging provincial laws in Alberta.
The Nation intends to invoke the ‘medicine chest’ clause of Treaty 6, signed in 1876, to assert its inherent jurisdiction and right to provide comprehensive healthcare. This move aims to provide access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender and Two-Spirit youth, services currently restricted by Alberta law for those under 16.
To facilitate this, the Nation is working to attract clinicians to its reserve land and plans to develop its own health law. Chief Dale Steinhauer stated that clinicians providing such care on reserve land would be exempt from sanctions by provincial regulatory bodies, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. The Nation has also begun fundraising to defend its legal position against potential challenges from the provincial government.
Entities
Alberta · Dale Steinhauer · Danielle Smith · Saddle Lake Cree Nation · Treaty 6 · United Conservative Party
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 4 SOURCES] Alberta provincial law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to children under 16. edmonton.citynews.ca · xtramagazine.com · www.castanet.net · globalnews.ca
- [● 3 SOURCES] Premier Danielle Smith stated the healthcare restrictions are intended to protect children and their fertility. edmonton.citynews.ca · www.castanet.net · globalnews.ca
- [● 4 SOURCES] Saddle Lake Cree Nation intends to establish a safe haven for gender-affirming medical care. edmonton.citynews.ca · xtramagazine.com · www.castanet.net · globalnews.ca
- [● 2 SOURCES] Saddle Lake Cree Nation is working to attract clinicians to provide gender-affirming care on reserve land. edmonton.citynews.ca · www.castanet.net
- [● 3 SOURCES] The Nation plans to exempt clinicians providing gender-affirming care on its territory from regulatory sanctions. edmonton.citynews.ca · xtramagazine.com · www.castanet.net
- [● 2 SOURCES] The Nation has begun fundraising to develop its own health law and defend it against legal challenges. edmonton.citynews.ca · www.castanet.net
- [● 3 SOURCES] The Alberta government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to protect its healthcare law from court challenges. edmonton.citynews.ca · www.castanet.net · globalnews.ca
- [● 2 SOURCES] The Nation is invoking the 'medicine chest' clause of Treaty 6 to assert healthcare sovereignty. xtramagazine.com · globalnews.ca