{"id":108649,"date":"2026-09-11T08:58:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=108649"},"modified":"2026-09-11T08:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:58:35","slug":"albertas-smith-takes-hands-off-approach-to-first-nations-trans-care-safe-haven-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/albertas-smith-takes-hands-off-approach-to-first-nations-trans-care-safe-haven-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta&#8217;s Smith takes hands-off approach to First Nation&#8217;s trans care safe haven"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Lisa Johnson Alberta&#8217;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. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any authority over the First Nation,&#8221; Smith told reporters at an event in Edmonton Thursday. \u201cI respect their sovereignty.\u201d Her comments came a day after Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced its plan. The nation says the plan is within their jurisdiction and that access to health care is a treaty right. Alberta law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender and gender diverse children under age 16. Smith has said the law is about protecting children and their fertility while preserving choice. Her United Conservative government has invoked the Charter&#8217;s notwithstanding clause to shield the&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F09%2F11%2Falbertas-smith-takes-hands-off-approach-to-first-nations-trans-care-safe-haven-3%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lisa Johnson Alberta&#8217;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. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any authority over the First Nation,&#8221; Smith told reporters at an event in Edmonton Thursday. \u201cI respect their sovereignty.\u201d Her comments came a day after Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced its plan. The nation says the plan is within their jurisdiction and that access to health care is a treaty right. Alberta law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender and gender diverse children under age 16. Smith has said the law is about protecting children and their fertility while preserving choice. Her United Conservative government has invoked the Charter&#8217;s notwithstanding clause to shield the... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F09%2F11%2Falbertas-smith-takes-hands-off-approach-to-first-nations-trans-care-safe-haven-3%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alberta&#039;s Smith takes hands-off approach to First Nation&#039;s trans care safe haven - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/albertas-smith-takes-hands-off-approach-to-first-nations-trans-care-safe-haven-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alberta&#039;s Smith takes hands-off approach to First Nation&#039;s trans care safe haven - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Lisa Johnson Alberta&#8217;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. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any authority over the First Nation,&#8221; Smith told reporters at an event in Edmonton Thursday. \u201cI respect their sovereignty.\u201d Her comments came a day after Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced its plan. The nation says the plan is within their jurisdiction and that access to health care is a treaty right. Alberta law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender and gender diverse children under age 16. Smith has said the law is about protecting children and their fertility while preserving choice. 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