Trans News/ Issues

[EnderD_503]

I read it a few days ago, but thought I'd share it with people here as well in case some haven't heard.

Very exciting news for trans people in Ontario:

Hi All

We have received breaking news from Susan Gapka of the Trans Lobby Group informing us that the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal may have struck down the surgical pre-requisite for a legal change of gender in Ontario. Susan has just received communication from legal counsel and is reading the decision now. It is expected to be posted on the CanLII website very, very soon. The relayed message is as follows:

BREAKING: There's a report that an Ontario court may just have struck down the surgery requirement for change of legal gender. Waiting to read the decision.

"In a decision released on April 11, 2012, in the XY v. Ontario case, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal found that the Vital Statistic Act's requirement for "transsexual surgery" prior to sex designation change on birth certificates discriminates against trans people. As a result of the decision, Ontario cannot enforce the surgical requirement and was given 180 days to revise the criteria for sex designation change.

The decision is not yet on the Canlii HRTO decision page (http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/nav/date/2012.html) but it should be soon." — via Caro Lyn


I will circulate the decision as soon as it becomes available.

and then:

Hi Everyone,

I can share that Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) confirmed that the court ruled that surgical pre-requisite is no longer a requirement for legal change of gender in the province, at a meeting I attended with her yesterday morning.

I haven't read the official announcement yet, but it appears this is going to be announced very soon. If that happens, I think it's only a matter of time before changes can be made to federal identification like passports. I think this will be a groundbreaking decision on the part of the province of Ontario!