Juno News - July 08, 2025


Nova Scotia health authorities admit to gender surgeries on teens


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

138.63324

Word Count

2,385

Sentence Count

18


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 in a true north exclusive nova scotia health authorities admit that they've greenlit multiple
00:00:10.880 gender surgeries for patients under 19 years old ontario premier doug ford and alberta premier
00:00:17.160 danielle smith signed two memoranda of understanding to boost interprovincial trade
00:00:21.700 the alberta prosperity project is promising tax cuts and budget surpluses if the province
00:00:27.800 separates from canada hello canada it's tuesday july 8th and this is the true north daily brief
00:00:34.260 i'm cosmon gerja and i'm jeff knight we've got you covered with all the news you need to know
00:00:39.860 let's discuss the top stories of the day and the true north exclusives you won't hear anywhere else
00:00:45.760 exclusive documents reveal that doctors in nova scotia greenlit five surgeries to create
00:00:56.140 artificial vaginas for patients listed as under 19 years old citing privacy laws the provincial
00:01:03.480 health authority refused to reveal whether any of the patients were minors but acknowledged that
00:01:09.340 nova scotia health funds transgender genital surgeries for minors as of this year as per policy and
00:01:16.860 procedures federal officials and canadian medical organizations have long assured the public that
00:01:22.680 bottom surgery a euphemism for irreversible genital procedures like vaginoplasties or the surgical
00:01:31.200 reshaping of tissue into an artificial opening are not performed on minors however newly released
00:01:39.020 documents from nova scotia's public health system show otherwise the citizens alliance of nova scotia
00:01:45.820 provided true north with demographic data obtained through freedom of information requests the data
00:01:52.420 shows age breakdowns of both surgical and non-surgical gender-related interventions the
00:01:58.460 findings reveal that minors in nova scotia are receiving irreversible transgender medical treatments
00:02:04.540 including puberty blockers cross-sex hormones and in some cases genital surgeries the number of
00:02:11.580 transgender treatments for all ages in nova scotia are trending upward at a time when other jurisdictions
00:02:17.580 such as the uk and several european countries are retreating from such interventions due to mounting
00:02:24.140 evidence of harm and a lack of long-term data to back claims made by transgender activists and proponents
00:02:32.060 in the medical community that such procedures lower the risk of suicide the 2023-2024 annual report from nova
00:02:40.780 scotia's health insurance program reveals that five genital procedures were approved for patients under
00:02:48.060 the age of 19 additional surgical procedures also appear in the same age bracket but the actual figure
00:02:55.100 remains suppressed under a section of nova scotia's freedom of information and protection of privacy act
00:03:02.540 which exempts disclosure when the number of patients is fewer than five true north sent several emails to
00:03:09.420 nova scotia health asking if any of the patients in the under 19 column were minors and to verify the age of
00:03:15.980 those listed stacey burges executive director of clinical care at nova scotia health would not specify
00:03:23.260 any ages but admitted that genital surgeries continue to be funded by the province even for minors nova scotia
00:03:30.940 health policy states that minors over the age of 16 can request exemptions for such surgeries under certain
00:03:37.660 conditions these revelations contradict public facing guidance from health canada and several provincial
00:03:44.220 health authorities which explicitly state that bottom surgeries are not available to individuals under 18.
00:03:51.660 puberty blockers particularly luprolide the generic version of lupron are being prescribed to children
00:03:58.860 under the age of 15 teens age 16 to 18 are being given testosterone and estradiol often in combination
00:04:07.420 with anti-androgens the costs associated with this care are significant nova scotia budgeted 1.7 million
00:04:15.580 for gender related health care in 2023 to 2024 alone that figure does not represent a fixed cap as internal memos
00:04:25.100 state that departments are encouraged to quote adjust forecasts upward if demand increases between 2021
00:04:33.100 and 2024 the province spent just over 2 million dollars on 187 all ages mastectomies this figure
00:04:41.660 includes hospital costs physician fees out of province costs like airfare accommodations and post-operative care
00:04:49.900 jeff it's confusing to me when you have a province that is run by a conservative party the progressive
00:04:59.020 conservatives of nova scotia and you see the extent of gender ideology going all the way to impacting
00:05:10.220 minors potentially receiving life-changing life-altering procedures so why is it that a supposedly
00:05:18.860 conservative province that elected a conservative government is funding these treatments when even
00:05:26.860 the medical community in some countries are backing out especially when it comes to the care of minors
00:05:34.380 yeah cosmon the decision by nova scotia which is often seen as a conservative province to fund harmful
00:05:39.820 transgender treatments for minors likely stems from a series of progressive policy shifts legal pressures and
00:05:45.820 a lack of political pushback the juno news article highlights that nova scotia health's 2023 to 2024
00:05:52.220 data obtained via freedom of information by the citizens alliance of nova scotia reveals five
00:05:57.340 neovaginal surgeries approved for patients under 19 contradicting health canada's public stance against
00:06:03.180 such procedures for those under 18. this funding part of a 1.7 million dollar budget with no fixed cap
00:06:09.980 reflects the province's adoption of the rights of indigenous peoples act and its alignment with the united
00:06:15.100 nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples which emphasizes inclusivity and has
00:06:20.780 extended to gender affirming care policies the province's move likely stems from legal and ethical
00:06:26.060 obligations under its health policies which allows 16 year olds to request exemptions for genital surgeries
00:06:31.820 driven by advocacy from transgender rights groups and medical bodies like the canadian pediatric society
00:06:37.660 which has pushed for such care since 2018. the juno news piece notes the influence of internal memos
00:06:43.020 encouraging upward budget adjustments suggesting a bureaucratic momentum rather than a conservative
00:06:47.980 ideological stance despite its conservative label tied to figures like former premier john ham's fiscal
00:06:53.660 restraint nova scotia's ndp government which has been in power since 2019 has embraced progressive
00:06:59.660 social policies including a 2021 gender affirming care framework to signal modernity amid a 2 million
00:07:05.980 dollar spend on 187 mastectomies from 2021 to 2024 the lack of robust opposition with only 38 of nova
00:07:14.140 scotians opposing such treatments per a 2024 forum research poll and the suppression of exact minor patient
00:07:20.780 numbers under privacy laws allow this to persist prioritizing compliance over the growing european
00:07:26.780 evidence of harm like the uk's 2023 cass review calling for caution due to insufficient long-term data
00:07:37.100 the premiers of alberta and ontario signed two new memoranda of understanding regarding new
00:07:42.300 transformational interprovincial trade agreements and their commitment to bolstering the energy sector
00:07:47.260 in a press conference announcing the agreements premier smith said quote today marks an important step forward
00:07:53.260 in uniting our country as alberta joins forces with ontario to pursue our shared goals of economic growth
00:07:59.740 opportunity and prosperity the province's commitment to maximize canada's energy resources
00:08:04.860 and global competitiveness the second will have alberta explore ways to prioritize the
00:08:09.580 procurement of made in canada vehicles to support ontario's automotive industry and boost
00:08:15.020 interprovincial trade of liquor products the agreements will see alberta and ontario work together
00:08:20.300 to repeal or amend the impact assessment act the oil tanker ban net zero power regulations the oil
00:08:26.700 and gas production cap and the federal government's electric vehicle mandate premier ford said quote
00:08:32.780 no one will build a pipeline to tidewaters if there's a ban on tankers that's the craziest thing i've ever
00:08:38.220 heard a ban on tankers no one will invest in opening a mine if it takes 10 years to get a yes
00:08:43.820 ford said the memorandums would diversify trading partners make canada less reliant on the united
00:08:49.900 states and secure the future when asked whether the federal government would push back on the
00:08:54.380 newly announced goals ford said he was more optimistic about prime minister mark carney
00:08:59.180 than former prime minister justin trudeau smith said that she spoke with carney in calgary over
00:09:03.820 the weekend and that the prime minister told her that the potential to build a bitumen pipeline to the
00:09:08.300 bc coast was very likely however smith said that carney quote can only talk the talk for so long
00:09:15.100 before he would have to start putting some real action around it she added that she would like
00:09:19.740 to see a full list of provincial and federal projects by the fall so cosmon are these agreements
00:09:24.940 a substantive step towards boosting interprovincial trade or are they merely symbolic gestures
00:09:30.860 while they're not legally binding but they are politically meaningful and when you have things like
00:09:37.740 developing steering committees and plans to implement it could actually result in action and reshape how
00:09:46.460 provinces work together on areas like trade and energy and with the tariff situation happening and
00:09:55.020 the impact on our trade with the united states the conversation has really shifted inwards to interprovincial
00:10:03.180 trade and these new memoranda of understanding build on a prior agreement that was signed in june
00:10:10.060 when all the premiers got together and discussed lowering trade barriers and such so like i said not
00:10:18.540 legally binding but there are there is substance in this so it's not entirely just a photo op ontario and
00:10:26.140 alberta are planning on aligning on pipelines energy exports and critical mineral infrastructure
00:10:33.020 ontario in particular is rich in critical minerals that go into electric vehicle batteries electronics
00:10:39.660 etc and obviously alberta is wealthy in terms of oil and energy and gas resources
00:10:47.820 part of this will translate to feasibility studies on how these things can be streamlined and you know barriers
00:10:54.620 reduced but additionally it also signals that they're pushing back on ottawa and one of the
00:11:01.820 positive developments despite some of the disagreements between premiers is they're sort of realizing
00:11:09.260 the potential and the power to push for independence of provinces and i don't mean that
00:11:17.500 in terms of a separatist independence but even within confeder even within confederation and independence
00:11:25.900 uh for provinces to seek out you know their own deals uh their own economic opportunities so backing a free trade
00:11:35.900 within canada vision is definitely significant and it's a mutual recognition that canada has the potential
00:11:45.580 to sustain itself if only there is a political will and that requires some cooperation
00:11:52.860 the alberta prosperity project is causing a stir after the group released its draft fiscal blueprint
00:12:04.140 claiming that independence from canada would transform alberta's economy for the better four
00:12:09.740 minute video shared by alberta prosperity projects general counsel jeffrey rath asserts the plan is more
00:12:16.620 than just the theory according to the value of freedom report alberta currently sends between 68 billion
00:12:23.260 and 75 billion dollars annually to ottawa while receiving just 22 to 26 billion in return based on
00:12:31.580 these figures an independent alberta would see a net gain of 44 to 47 billion dollars if the province
00:12:38.060 separates the report claims that while provincial expenditures could reach up to 106.9 billion
00:12:45.980 projected revenues could climb to 149.1 billion based on detailed line item calculations it estimates an
00:12:55.100 annual surplus ranging from 29.4 billion dollars to 48.3 billion dollars excluding the one-time setup costs
00:13:03.500 the path the plan outlines major one-time startup costs for creating a defense force border services
00:13:10.460 and regulatory agencies totaling up to 5.7 billion dollars the report claims the surplus would leave
00:13:18.060 room for tax reductions infrastructure investment and debt reduction some of the tax reductions proposed
00:13:25.100 would include eliminating gsd and provincial personal and corporate income tax reducing the annual tax rate
00:13:32.220 by up to 46 percent and saving albertans an average of 18 000 annually the proposal also calls for
00:13:39.980 embedding strict fiscal safeguards into a new alberta constitution including balanced budget requirements
00:13:46.380 spending caps debt limits tied to gdp and mandatory public referendums before any new taxes can be imposed
00:13:54.380 the fully costed fiscal plan was derived from a variety of sources including statistics canada
00:14:00.380 provincial budgets public documents from accounting firms and more the plan notes that any predictions
00:14:06.620 are approximate and have a variance of up to 10 percent the fiscal framework proposes that alberta
00:14:12.620 would immediately but temporarily adopt the us dollar before creating a new alberta dollar backed by oil
00:14:19.660 gold and bitcoin so this is quite an ambitious projection and we know from you know political
00:14:27.900 experience and etc that projections are not necessarily what ends up happening especially when it comes
00:14:34.140 to budgets and fiscal planning so jeff how much would an independent alberta truly be capable of reaching
00:14:46.140 these goals yeah an independent alberta's ability to achieve the lofty goals outlined in the alberta
00:14:51.500 prosperity projects report hinges on several optimistic assumptions that face significant hurdles the
00:14:57.580 reports claim of a 44 to 47 billion dollar net gain from ottawa based on current fiscal transfers of 68
00:15:04.140 to 75 billion dollars cent versus 22 to 26 billion dollars received relies on alberta retaining all its resource
00:15:10.700 revenues estimated at 149.1 billion annually while managing 106.9 billion in expenditures the juno news piece notes
00:15:19.900 expert skepticism with economists like trevor tombe from the university of calgary arguing that these figures assume seamless
00:15:27.020 market access and no trade retaliation which is dubious given canada's 97 percent oil export reliance
00:15:33.660 on the u.s per 2024 natural resources canada data the proposed one-time 5.7 billion dollar startup costs
00:15:40.780 for a defense force border services and regulatory agencies are feasible comparable to saskatchewan's
00:15:47.100 2023 security budget of 1.2 billion dollars scaled up but the transition to a u.s dollar then an alberta
00:15:53.260 dollar introduces currency risk the juno news article cites concerns from financial analyst david dodge
00:15:59.820 that a resource-backed currency could face volatility especially with bitcoin's 30 price swings in 2025
00:16:06.300 alone tax elimination and spending caps sound appealing but the 10 percent variance in projections
00:16:11.820 up to 14.9 billion dollars could erase surpluses if oil prices drop below 70 a barrel as seen in 2020
00:16:19.660 or if infrastructure costs bloom beyond the 10 to 20 billion dollar pipeline estimates alberta's debt
00:16:25.900 at 70 billion dollars in 2025 would require decades to clear even with surpluses and as the juno news
00:16:32.380 piece warns global trade isolation could shrink revenues not grow them while the plan's fiscal
00:16:37.900 safeguards offer discipline its success depends on untested economic sovereignty and global goodwill
00:16:44.620 making these goals aspirational but far from guaranteed that's it for today folks thanks for
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