Jamie Scott Summers
Age 37 (born 21 May 1986)23 Feb 2024
Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
Suicide
Jamie died by suicide after anti-trans rhetoric and policies had made him feel scared and isolated.
"It's late and it's been a horrible two days. The short version is two nights ago, two members of the Calgary Police Service came to my home and asked to come inside and speak with me, and that's when I learned that my trans nephew had died by suicide.
"As a rational person, as a just a person in our world, and also as a family doctor, I sort of figured that there's a reasonable chance that these horrible policies that were unveiled in that disgusting video by Premier Smith probably didn't help.
"And yesterday I learned that they not just didn't help, that they were a contributing cause, that my trans nephew had been worried for quite some time and actually had messaged me in the past about concerns about the growing trend case in the United States and in Canada, but that specifically he was very scared and felt quite isolated as a direct result of Premier Danielle Smith unveiling of her planned policies...
"The reason he's dead: Well, it's complex, but a direct contributing factor was the announcement by Premier Smith. And so you said earlier in the show it's only a matter of time before some people die as a result or start to get hurt as a result of her policies that she unveiled.
"And my nephew was 37, so not a kid or teen anymore. But still we now have at least one person death, which we can directly draw a line to to Premier Smith and the kind of hate that she and Pierre Poilievre and their ilk are promoting.
Earlier this month, Smith announced new rules on transgender and gender identity in Alberta, including directions around naming, sexual education, transgender athletes in women’s sports, and gender-affirming care. If passed, Alberta will require parental consent for students 15 and under who want to change their names or pronouns at school. Students 16 and 17 years old won’t need consent, but their parents will have to be notified.
Parents must also opt-in for their kids to participate in each class that teaches about sex education, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Current laws allow parents to opt-out of such education.
Gender reassignment surgery will also be banned for those 17 and under, the premier said, and minors won’t have access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for gender reassignment or gender affirmation.
In the wake of Jaime's passing the Jaime Scott Summers Memorial Fund was set up to "provide accessible, timely funding in the form of microgrants to individuals, groups, collectives and grassroots organizations for initiatives which make an immediate and measurable impact on the lives of two-spirit, trans and gender diverse Albertans."
This fund was created in the honour of Jaime Summers, who passed away in the winter of 2024 as a result of the rising transphobic hate and violence within Alberta. Jaime was a trans man whose was passionate about precision crafts including micro-origami and typography.
He was happy and grateful to get to work in an inclusive workplace, through which he had life insurance. The designated beneficiary of this life insurance policy decided to donate the full amount to initiatives which support the lives of two-spirit, trans and gender diverse Albertans, with the majority of this amount being used to start this fund as administered by Skipping Stone.
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2024/02/27/alberta-doctor-transgender-suicide/
https://edmontonjournal.remembering.ca/obituary/jaime-summers-1089451540
https://www.skippingstone.ca/jaimescottsummers
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dr-david-keegan/id1493155854?i=1000647131223
https://www.facebook.com/events/s/jaimes-march-a-rally-and-march/400856569210131/
https://x.com/drDavidKeegan/status/1765232837404574191
https://x.com/shawnrouse/status/1762136985336955146
