Letter to the standing policy committee

To:

Mr. Fred Horne (PC) - Committee CHAIR
MLA for Edmonton-Rutherford

Ms. Bridget A. Pastoor (LIB) - DEPUTY Chair
MLA for Lethbridge-East

Mr. Cal Dallas (PC)
MLA for Red Deer-South

Mr. Jonathan Denis (PC)
MLA for Calgary-Egmont

Mr. Kyle Fawcett (PC)
MLA for Calgary-North Hill

Ms. Rachel Notley (ND)
MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona

Mr. Verlyn Olson (PC)
MLA for Wetaskiwin-Camrose
Mr. Dave Quest (PC)
MLA for Strathcona

Dr. Raj Sherman (PC)
MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark

Dr. Kevin Taft (LIB)
MLA for Edmonton-Riverview

Mr. Tony Vandermeer (PC)
MLA for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview

Dear Honourable members of the Alberta Legislative Assembly:

Please note again that the following represents my personal views, and not those of the law firm in which I am a partner.

I am forwarding the attached correspondence, sent by me earlier today to the Premier, the Minister of Finance, my MLA, Mr. Blackett, and selected members of the opposition (Dr. Taft, I apologize for the resulting duplication), to each of you in your capacity, as I understand it, as members of the Standing Policy Committee on Health. I urge each of you to carefully consider the funding cut the government proposes. In my view, there is no benefit to this at all. It will save but a pittance. It will result in an expensive, embarrassing and losing legal battle, and I have more than a reasonable apprehension that it will indeed result in some deaths from suicide. I hope that I am wrong, but I more fervently hope that you will not give me an opportunity to be proven right.

If, after due consideration, you move ahead with this measure, I suppose that will be democracy in action. I will at least have had my say.

However, if it turns out that I am right about how drastic and how regrettably fatal the results of this step may be, if you have read this, then I expect it will be difficult for those of you who actually implement the decision to say "forgive us, for we knew not what we did." (and, it being Easter, you may forgive me for the analogies and references used here and below)

Frankly, while to date I have been a staunch supporter of the ruling party, and really hope the party comes to its senses on this, it occurs to me that the members of the opposition who hopefully review this email may find some ideas or concepts of use. Feel free to use them, including to make any connection you wish to make between the approach to defining gender orientation in the statutory amendments referred to and the current budget cut of expressed concern. The definition proposed nicely frames a potential argument the government may try to use to justify the currently proposed funding cut. I am quite confident the courts, or even the Human Rights Commission, will not be so easily fooled. Did the government even ask its own lawyers about this first? If not, what are you paying them for?

I see that the press and media are picking this up quite nicely already.

The medical understanding of gender dysphoria has advanced greatly in recent years, as has the public awareness thereof. If your understanding or awareness have not kept pace, then you owe your constituents a duty to be informing yourselves before you make any decisions you, or others, may regret. Some of you appear to hold doctorate degrees - surely you have some awareness, or the skills to rapidly inform yourselves.

You also owe it to yourselves to be sure you are not mis-reading the public mood on this. Albertan's in my experience are a compassionate and generous lot.

I do not necessarily expect a reply from any of you. However, if I may be of assistance, I am prepared to answer any questions any of you may have, if you feel you need to know more about the issues. I have spent some time informing myself. My full contact information is at the end of the forwarded email below.

In case any of you are wondering, I am not a transsexual. I am a 59 year old married male lawyer, with 3 children. My wife and I will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary this year, and I will have been practicing law in Alberta for 25 years as of this July. I was born (Lethbridge) and raised (Fort Macleod) in Alberta and I have lived in this province my entire life. All of my university degrees are from Alberta institutions. I am proud to be a citizen of the greatest province in the greatest country on earth. My grandparents and parents were of two of the generations that built this province, and they are all buried here.

Therefore, I just cannot sit by and watch this train-wreck of a decision be made without saying something.

Thank you for your attention.