The Tegan and Sara Foundation has published an open letter addressing the anti-trans legislation proposed by multiple Canadian provinces pushing to limit trans rights that has been signed by more than 400 artists.
Published on March 31, also known as Trans Day of Visibility, the Artists Against Anti-Trans Legislation in Canada has been signed by more than 400 Canadian artists, including Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dallas Green (Alexisonfire, City and Colour), The Beaches, Sarah McLachlan, Max Kerman (Arkells), Leslie Feist, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang and more.
The intitiative is led by Tegan and Sara Quin, who spoke out against the Alberta government's policies proposing changes that would affect transgender youth when they received the Humanitarian Award for their work advocating for LGBTQ2 people at this year's Juno Awards.
“If the world were not so hostile to 2SLGBTQ+ people, we would see ourselves purely as musicians,” Sara Quin said on stage. “Advocating for our community’s rights is a great privilege, and we are dedicated to confronting any form of discrimination that threatens the well-being of our community. Like the Alberta government’s attempt to prevent trans youth from accessing vital care.”
The letter specifically mentions Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for targeting transgender youth with "proposed bans on hormonal treatment, puberty blockers and gender-confirmation surgery." They also call out New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, which both announced any gender-diverse children under 16 will require parental consent before schools can honour any chosen names and pronouns."
You can see the full list of artists signatories here.