Yesterday (April 28), Halifax-born actor and activist Elliot Page — who was recently named one of Time's Top 100 Most Influential People of 2024 — appeared at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, where he was asked for his thoughts on Alberta's anti-trans legislation.
In conversation with Page at the BMO Centre in Stampede Park, moderator Mike Morrison brought up the provincial government's new policies pertaining to trans Albertans, particularly in the youth demographic, with age-based bans on gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy, and limitations on trans athletes' participation in sports.
Parents are also now required to give consent on their children's behalf for any formal instruction on gender identity, sexual orientation or sexuality, as well as for kids under the age of 15 to change their preferred name and/or pronouns at school — naming policies which provincial governments in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have also adopted.
"First of all, it's awful," Page said [via The Calgary Herald]. "It's harmful. It stems from misinformation and lies about our health care, about our lives and who we are. It's policies that go against the advice of the Alberta Medical Association and Canadian Paediatric Society."
"Seriously, this has serious impacts on people's lives, on the father you just saw and his son and all the individuals who are just trying to live their lives and thrive and grow in safe environments," he continued, referring to an earlier question from a parent about how to speak to his son about gender identity amidst the Conservative Party's infringement on the freedoms of gender-diverse youth.
"The first time I tried to talk about my sexuality when I was 15 my mom — who is so supportive now and amazing — [said], 'Yeah, that doesn't exist,'" the Umbrella Academy actor explained. "Forcibly outing children to their parents, taking away any kind of agency for them to be themselves, particularly when it's backed by major medical institutions, is appalling. It's appalling."
Page was also among the signees of Tegan and Sara's open letter against anti-trans legislation in Canada, which they published on International Transgender Day of Visibility.