Transgender rights in Canada
[20] In July 2020, Global News reported that the policy of not allowing refugee claimants and temporary residents to change their legal gender was causing harm, especially to asylum seekers.
[21] In response, Kevin Lemkay, spokesperson for federal immigration minister Marco Mendicino, said that 'reviewing gender identity requirements for government-issued documents [was] a priority'.
[25] Following a 2014 court ruling that struck down the existing legislation and its surgery requirements as unconstitutional,[26][27] the government of Alberta modified the Vital Statistics Information Regulation in 2015.
resident Kori Doty, along with seven other trans and intersex persons, filed a human rights complaint against the province, alleging that publishing a sex indicator on birth certificates was discriminatory.
[31][32] In 2022, British Columbia allowed people to change their gender designation on the province's main government-issued ID (BC Services Card, B.C.
This follows the model formerly adopted by Québec (now invalidated by the Superior Court in that province), but is discrepant with Manitoba's own policy for legal changes of name (three months' ordinary residence).
[42][43] The first gender-neutral birth certificate in Newfoundland and Labrador, and possibly the first in Canada, was issued December 14, 2017, to Gemma Hickey, a non-binary resident of St. John's, the province's capital.
Hickey withdrew the court action after the government agreed to amend the Vital Statistics Act to authorize the issuing of gender-neutral birth certificates.
[46] On June 1, 2021, a bill to amend the Vital Statistics Act to provide for the issuance of certificates of change of sex designation to people born outside Newfoundland and Labrador who have been living in the province for three months was tabled.
The Northwest Territories government removed the surgery requirement for a legal gender change from the Vital Statistics Act in June 2016.
In April 2016, the Prince Edward Island government amended the Vital Statistics Act to allow individuals to change their legal gender on ID without surgery.
[65] The Quebec government has until the end of 2021 to amend these aforementioned legal provisions, except for the discriminatory citizenship requirement, which the Court declared invalid with immediate effect.
[76] In February 2011, it passed third reading in the House of Commons with support from all parties, but was not considered in the Senate before Parliament was dissolved for the 41st Canadian federal election.
[79] They are typically enforced by human rights commissions and tribunals through a complaint investigation, conciliation and arbitration process that is slow, but free, and includes protection against retaliation.
Thus, the province of Québec became the first jurisdiction in the world larger than a city or county to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in the private and public sectors.
Today, sexual orientation is explicitly mentioned as a ground of prohibited discrimination in the human rights acts of all jurisdictions in Canada.
The new directive stresses ones right to freely express their gender identity and outlines uniform and naming protocols, medical and surgical support opportunities and accommodations to privacy.
[130] Insurance coverage is not generally provided for the transition-related procedures of facial feminization surgery, tracheal shave, or laser hair removal.
For example Rainbow Health Ontario, an LGBTQ+ healthcare organization, estimates that freezing sperm typically costs $125 to $300, with an additional $200 for each year of storage.
[136] It was removed from the list of covered procedures in October 1998 under Mike Harris' Progressive Conservative government, apparently as a cost-saving measure, sparking an outcry from the transgender community.
Similar to Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador's Medical Care Plan (MCP) formerly required surgical assessments from CAMH as a prerequisite for covering SRS procedures.
The government also stated its intent to align with best practices identified by World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines.
These criteria stated that transgender donors who had not had lower gender affirming surgery would be asked questions based on their sex assigned at birth.
[145] According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, "Current evidence shows puberty blockers to be safe when used appropriately, and they remain an option to be considered within a wider view of the patient's mental and psychosocial health.
[149][150][151] Insurance coverage is not generally provided for the transition-related procedures of facial feminization surgery, tracheal shave, or laser hair removal.
[153] The provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island had bans in place prior to the enactment of federal legislation.
As well, Wynne spoke in favour of a bill tabled by Cheri DiNovo, a member of the provincial New Democratic Party, that would outlaw any attempt to change the gender or sexuality of a person under 18 via therapy.
[154] Wynne, as the first openly gay Premier in Canada, stated that youths expressing their sexuality and gender identity should be protected, and that young LGBTQ people are especially vulnerable to these conversion therapy practices.
[155] A bill banning conversion therapy for sexual orientation and gender identity was passed unanimously in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia in 2018.
[170] In Alberta, the Health Statutes Amendment Act would prohibit children under 16 from accessing puberty blockers for the purpose of treating gender dysphoria and all minors from receiving transgender surgery.
