Civil liberties groups decry Alberta's plan to use notwithstanding clause to pass anti-trans laws

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Ligue des droits et libertés jointly criticized the Alberta government’s announced intention to invoke the notwithstanding clause to evade judicial review of three laws. 

In a joint statement, the organizations pointed out that the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that trans and gender-diverse individuals are uniquely vulnerable to discrimination. 

The groups stressed that the three laws – the Repeal the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024; the Education Amendment Act, 2024; and the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act – target the rights of trans and gender-diverse youth and adults in the province. 

“The harms are not speculative,” the three organizations said in their statement. “These laws threaten the safety, dignity, health, and well-being of people who already face systemic barriers in all aspects of public life.” 

According to the associations, Alberta’s proposal: 

• undermines democratic accountability and the fight against governmental overreach 
• denies vulnerable people access to the courts to challenge the laws’ constitutionality 
• sets a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes the rights of all Canadians 
• perpetuates stigma 
• withholds the equal protection of the law 

The groups said the legislature did not intend for the casual or preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause and instead meant it as an extraordinary measure, utilized only rarely. 

“Alberta’s plan reflects a deeply troubling national trend: the growing normalization of the notwithstanding clause to avoid accountability, strip marginalized people of Charter protections and sidestep constitutional obligations which undermines the rule of law,” the organizations said. 

The groups noted that Quebec has repeatedly witnessed the use of the notwithstanding clause to suppress the fundamental rights of religious and linguistic minorities, including through the following: 

• Bill 21, passed in 2019, prevented some public servants from wearing religious symbols 
• Bill 96, passed in 2022, restricted access to English-language services 
• Bill 94, introduced in 2025, limited access to public services for those with face coverings and expanded the prohibition against wearing religious symbols to school staff 

The associations added that the Ontario and Saskatchewan governments have tried deploying the notwithstanding clause to override labour rights and limit political expression and trans youth rights. 

Call to Alberta

“Respect for human rights and civil liberties is not a partisan value,” the organizations’ joint statement said. “It is the bedrock of Canadian democracy. We stand together to demand that the Alberta government uphold, not erode, those values.” 

Together, the groups asked the provincial premier and government to: 

• Repeal the three laws 
• Cease from using the notwithstanding clause to attempt to insulate these laws from judicial scrutiny 
• Respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 
• Let the courts carry out their constitutional role, considering the need for a free and democratic society 

“While trans and gender-diverse Albertans will bear the most immediate and devastating impacts of these laws, this is not only their fight,” the associations said. “A government that claims the right to set aside judicial oversight for some groups, claims the right to do so for any group.”