Recently, Randall Garrison, MP and LGBTT critic for the New Democratic Party of Canada, reintroduced into Parliament a Bill to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and the Criminal Code of Canada to include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination.

As you may know, this Bill – Bill C-279 – had a previous manifestation, Bill C-389, which made it through Parliament but died at the Senate when the government was dissolved in March. Now, thanks to the re-introduction of the Bill by Randall Garrison, we have yet another chance to make these human rights protections a reality.

Here’s how you can help put the pressure on the MP’s and the Prime Minister to pass the Bill:

1. Do a canvass!
Print out some copies of Randall Garrison’s petition, grab some friends, and hit your local neighbourhood hotspots. Then, mail copies of the petition to back to MP Garrison so that he may bring it to the floor. The best part of this is that postage is FREE!

Click here to download a copy of the petition [PDF Format].

2. Contact your Member of Parliament (MP)
Call, write, email, tweet or snail-mail your MPs, and the Leaders of the Conservative, NDP and Liberal Parties of Canada. Let them know that you support fundamental human rights, and that passing this Bill would provide explicit and unequivocal human rights protections to transsexual, transgender, intersex and gender variant individuals in Canada.

Don’t know who your MP is? You can find them easily using this online tool and your postal code: http://bit.ly/mfMkVq

Call, write or email the Minister of Justice, the Hon. Rob Nicholson, P.C., M.P.
Telephone: 613-995-1547       E-mail: Nichor@parl.gc.ca

Call, write or email the Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Telephone: 613-992-4211     Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

Letters to all MPs, Party Leaders, the Prime Minister can be sent postage free to:

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

So call, write, and tweet away – let’s make this the winning Bill!