An Alberta physician who has been critical of the province for years is requesting a meeting with Premier Danielle Smith, saying the government’s transgender policies contributed to his adult nephew’s suicide even while the province plans to increase support for transgender adults.
David Keegan, a family physician and professor of family medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, told City News that his 37 year-old nephew committed suicide after recent government policies appeared to have pushed him over the edge.
Under Smith’s announcement, transgender adults will actually receive more support in the coming years.
“This shouldn’t have happened. It was chosen. She knew this would happen,” Keegan argued on City News. “This is not the kind of way our province should be.”
In January, Smith announced that top and bottom gender reassignment surgeries will be banned for children aged 17 and under in Alberta while puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender reassignment or affirmation will be prohibited for minors aged 15 and under.
The premier also announced that she will expand provincial access to surgical care for trans adults so they don’t have to travel to Quebec.
The activist doctor has lamented the state of health care in the province in media articles dating back a few years.
A David Keegan of Calgary contributed $350 to the Alberta NDP in 2021. Keegan didn’t respond to a request confirming whether the donation was his.
In September 2022, Keegan filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission over the federal government’s decision to lift mask requirements on airplanes.
The following June, he created a crowdfunding campaign to file a court injunction against Alberta Health Services’ plan to lift its facility mask mandate.
A few months later in December, he wrote a column in the Calgary Herald titled “Why I chose Alberta; and what went wrong.”
“I’ve been here almost 16 years. Something has gone wrong with Alberta in this time,” he wrote.
“The wisdom that seemed to anchor Alberta’s decision-making has been thrown out, replaced by refusals to address the opioid crisis, advance Truth and Reconciliation, and ensure we have strong health and education systems for all. And for what? To save a bit of money in the very short term and enable some companies to extract as much as they can, while downloading costs to families and the future.”
A month later, a January article from the Red Deer Advocate covered how Keegan wears a ribbon he made from duct tape to “represent how Alberta’s health care system is barely being held together.”
Smith hasn’t commented on meeting with Keegan but directed City News to the mental health helpline.
