New bill banning trans participation in sports dehumanizes: Advocate

The Alberta government says its new bill aimed at women’s sports departments is about inclusion, but advocates disagree.

The Fairness and Safety in Sports Act One of three bills was introduced Thursday that outline new policies on gender-affirming health care, pronoun policies and transgender participation in sports.

If the bill is passed, only women and girls registered as female at birth would be allowed to participate in provincial, school or post-secondary sports divisions.

Prime Minister Danielle Smith said Thursday the bill aims to “ensure everyone can participate fairly and safely in the sports they love.”

“I don’t want kids to be demoralized because they feel like it’s working against them and it’s unfair,” Smith said.

Florence Ashley, an assistant professor of law at the University of Alberta, said the law will do just that for the already small community of trans and non-binary athletes.

“In the Olympic Games charter we read that sport is a human right,” Ashley said. “What happens when you deny someone a human right? Well, that person feels dehumanized.”

Ashley said many transgender people already stay away from sports due to fear of rejection, despite the health and social benefits.

“Now you’re making that worse,” Ashley added. “We’re told we have to exercise… But when you’re trans, you’re like, ‘Well, I guess I can’t do that.'”

Tourism and Sports Minister Joseph Schow said Friday that the framework in the legislation only applies to female sports departments, and that it does not include restrictions on the participation of transgender boys and men in male sports.

Smith said the province will support the creation of new co-educational wards that will be open to transgender women and girls.

When asked how many transgender athletes compete in divisions covered by the bill, the province did not know.

Requests for new divisions must be reported to the province, along with any complaints regarding eligibility and the manner in which they were handled.

Schow said the legislation will only apply to competitive county, school or post-secondary departments. Recreational sports will continue to be regulated by individual organizations.

He said female athletes will be allowed to compete in female divisions even if they have differences in sex development (previously called intersex), as long as they were registered as female at birth.

Natural benefits

Hannah Pilling, an 18-year-old track and cross country athlete, spoke in support of the bill Thursday.

She said she almost lost a chance to compete in provincials last year after losing a race involving a transgender athlete.

“Three of us broke away from the rest of the peloton for almost the entire race. The transgender athlete and I ran neck and neck in the last 200 meters… I crossed the finish line in third place, missing the provincial cutoff by half one step,” said Pilling.

She did not say whether the transgender athlete also defeated the other female athlete placed ahead of her.

After disputing the results, Pilling was granted an exception and was able to compete in the provincial competitions.

Smith and said the bill upholds the demands of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls to preserve women’s space.

“If there is no difference between men and women, why haven’t we always just had mixed sports?” said Smith.

There are biological differences between men and women.

There are also differences within these groups, as individuals of the same sex are born with a wide range of genetic traits – such as height, speed, body shape and reflexes – that can provide a natural advantage in sports.

“I think the bottom line is, ‘Why are you okay with all these advantages that people are born with until we talk about transgender people?’ said Ashley.

A 2023 study published in the scientific journal Limits in sports and active life found large differences within cis-gendered male and female populations, including individuals who are naturally “gifted.”

The research shows that about 2.3 percent of the normally distributed population is likely to be above average relative to their same-sex peers, while only about 0.5 percent identify as transgender.

“An individual’s gender does not determine his or her success or failure at any athletics event, despite the high level of competition. This can be demonstrated by looking not at average results, but at the degree of overlap between results” , the study said.

The advocacy group Canadian Women and Sport (CWS) has issued a decision statement Friday asks the Alberta government to prevent blanket exclusion of transgender athletes.

Schöl said he disagrees with the claim that the bill is exclusionary because it will allow more girls to participate in sports for longer.

He quotes a report by the UN Special Rapporteur that includes the “inclusion of men in the female sports category” as a reason why girls exclude themselves from sports.

CWS says banning transgender girls does not reflect evidence of the barriers to keeping girls in sport longer, including financial costs, limited access and a lack of skills and confidence.

“We urge those with decision-making power to rely on good guidance from leading sports authorities and focus their efforts on implementing evidence-based solutions to tackle the barriers that prevent girls from accessing the benefits of sport ,” CSW said in the statement.

If passed, the bill is expected to come into effect next fall.

With files from Jeremy Thompson of CTV News Edmonton