Saddle Lake Cree Nation asserts treaty rights over access to gender-affirming care
The nation says the Treaty 6 medicine chest clause gives it authority to offer care and shield patients from Alberta restrictions.
- On Wednesday, Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced plans to establish a haven for gender-affirming care on reserve lands, asserting treaty rights to bypass Alberta's provincial restrictions.
- Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government passed Alberta Bills 26, 27, and 29 last year, restricting medical treatments and pronoun changes for transgender youth and families.
- Invoking the 'medicine chest' clause of Treaty Number Six, the First Nation asserts inherent jurisdiction to provide healthcare, noting studies show denying supportive care increases mental health risks by 72 per cent.
- Saddle Lake Cree Nation Chief Dale Steinhauer confirmed the initiative will offer services to any Albertan, stating, "We will not stand by while basic human rights and vital healthcare services are denied."
- Senator Kristopher Wells praised the move as evidence-based, while Mount Royal University political analyst Lori Williams suggested this assertion of sovereign jurisdiction creates a direct legal challenge.
20 Articles
20 Articles
FoM praises Alberta First Nation for using to treaty rights to protect gender-affirming care
Friends of Medicare released a statement congratulating and thanking the Saddle Lake Cree Nation for enforcing its treaty rights to ensure gender-affirming care for all Albertans. A release on Wednesday from Saddle Lake Cree Nation leadership announced it will pursue measures to create a safe haven for gender-affirming care on its reserved lands and territories.
Alberta's Smith takes hands-off approach to First Nation's trans care safe haven
Alberta’s premier is taking a hands-off approach to a First Nation defying her government by announcing it will offer safe haven for gender-affirming medical care. Danielle Smith says she doesn’t have any authority over the First Nation and respects its sovereignty. A day earlier, the Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced its safe haven plan, saying […]
Saddle Lake Cree Nation vows to defy Alberta ban on transgender treatments for children
Subhead:First Nation claims Treaty 6 gives it authority to protect clinicians who provide puberty blockers and other prohibited treatments# Saddle Lake Cree Nation has announced plans to sidestep Alberta’s restrictions on transgender medical treatments for children by declaring its territory a haven for patients and clinicians seeking to defy the provincial law. The First Nation, located northeast of Edmonton, says it will develop its own heal…
Alberta First Nation wants to set up safe haven for gender-affirming care
Saddle Lake Cree Nation says its aiming to defy Premier Danielle Smith's government by establishing a safe haven for gender-affirming care. Chief Dale Steinhauer described the law as dehumanizing and says health care is protected under treaty rights.
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