From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

A draft version of a forthcoming Alberta Bill of Rights provided to LifeSiteNews includes a provision beefing up parental rights, declaring the ‘freedom of parents to make informed decisions concerning the health, education, welfare and upbringing of their children.’

The United Conservative Party government of the province of Alberta is anticipated to soon introduce a new “Bill of Rights,” a current draft of which includes a provision that would cement parental rights as “God-given.”

LifeSiteNews was recently provided exclusive access to a draft version of the “Alberta Bill of Rights” from a source well connected with the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP). 

Included in the draft bill is a section titled, “Freedom of parents to make informed decisions concerning the health, education, welfare and upbringing of their children.” 

The text of the draft version, which is still subject to change, reads that the “Government of Alberta, on behalf of its citizens,” must acknowledge that the “freedom of parents to raise their children is sui generis – independent from legislation, not flowing from it – it precedes government.” 

“It is a government’s duty to respect that familial boundary until children reach the age of majority. Parents have an obligation to provide for the basic health, education, and welfare of their child as they exercise custody and authority,” reads the bill. 

The text then reads that the “state shall not target parents nor interfere with parental rights on the basis of religious or social standing, nor on the basis of fiscal status provided that parents are demonstrably providing for the necessities of their children.” 

“No officer or agency of the government, including any subdivisions, shall infringe on a parent’s freedoms except as demonstrably necessary on a case-by-case basis as provided by law, such steps to be narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest by the least restrictive means,” it states.  

“Remedial provisions shall be provided for the intentional interference of parental freedoms by governments, organizations or individuals.” 

The text concludes with a sentence affirming that “Family is in the best interests of a child.”

It is expected that the UCP government in Alberta will introduce its new “Bill of Rights” this fall. The bill contains a slew of pro-freedom proposals, including, as reported by LifeSiteNews, enshrining the “right to life” into law, including from “conception, gestation in the womb.”  

The bill also includes, as reported by LifeSiteNews, a section that guarantees each citizen has the “right” to medical “informed consent” as well as the “right” to “refuse vaccinations.” 

While the UCP source told LifeSiteNews that the draft version of the bill is subject to change, the source also said it is hoped by all of those who worked on it that the final version will not include many changes.  

According to the source, the draft version of the Alberta Bill of Rights was created by a “small group writing it in secret and consulting with lawyers” as well as elected MLAs and cabinet members of the UCP government. 

It is not yet clear just how much of the bill has the support of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, leader of the UCP. She promised last year, as reported by LifeSiteNews, to enshrine into “law” protections for people in her province who choose not to be vaccinated as well as strengthen gun rights and safeguard speech by beefing up the provincial Bill of Rights. 

She has also said that parents should be primary caregivers of their children, and earlier this year announced what is the strongest pro-family legislation in Canada, protecting kids from life-altering so-called “top and bottom” surgeries as well as other forms of transgender ideology.

However, Smith’s view on the traditional nuclear family is at odds with the views of many conservatives, including many who support the UCP. As reported by LifeSiteNews last month, Smith noted, in a wide-ranging interview with Jordan Peterson, that conservatives should “modernize” their view of what the nuclear family looks like, including homosexuals “couples” seeking to obtain children.