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The following letter by Sandra Leonetti (Deputy Registrar General, Office of the Registrar General) was forwarded to us by Alexandra Schmidt (Senior Policy Advisor, Policy & Regulatory Services Branch, ServiceOntario), as a stakeholder in the consultations around the Change of Sex Designation Criteria on an Ontario Birth Certificate. French and English PDF versions of the letter can be downloaded after the text.
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October 5, 2012
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I am writing to inform you of changes to requirements to change sex designation on an Ontario birth registration.
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The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ordered the Government to cease requiring transgendered persons to have “transsexual surgery” in order to obtain a change in sex designation on their registration of birth. In accordance with the Tribunal’s order, the criteria for changing sex designation on a birth registration have been revised and there is no longer a requirement for “transsexual surgery”.
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The new criteria requires that a person wishing to change their sex designation on their Ontario birth registration complete a statutory declaration that they have assumed (or have always had) the gender identity that accords with the change in sex designation, they are living full-time in that gender identity and they intend to maintain that gender identity. The person must also provide a letter from a practising physician or psychologist (including a psychological associate) authorized to practise in Canada who can support the requested change. Alternative evidence to this letter in certain circumstances may be acceptable and is detailed on the application form.
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At this time, an applicant for a change in sex designation on a birth registration must be at least 18 years of age.
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The revised criteria and forms are posted on the Ministry’s website at www.ServiceOntario.ca. We would appreciate if you would make this information available to members of your organization and any clients who may be impacted by the revised criteria.
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Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.
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Sincerely,
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Original signed
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Sandra Leonetti
Deputy Registrar General, Office of the Registrar General
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A PDF version of this letter can be downloaded here: English Registrar General Letter Re New Change of Sex Designation Criteria in Ontario

A French version can be downloaded here: French Registrar General Letter Re New Change of Sex Designation Criteria in Ontario
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This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada issued two rulings on the criminalizability of individuals living with HIV if they do not disclose their HIV-positive status to a sexual partner before engaging with them, sexually.  The rulings are in response to a case in Manitoba, where a man was charged with nine counts of aggravated sexual assault based on his failure to disclose his HIV‑positive status to nine complainants (none of the complainants contracted HIV); and a case in Quebec, where a woman with HIV was charged with sexual assault and aggravated assault for failing to disclose her HIV-positve status to a partner.
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The Supreme Court of Canada has effectively ruled that laying such charges on an individual who is HIV-positive, with an undetectable viral load, and who made proper use of a condom, is unreasonable because the “realistic possibility of transmission of HIV is negated” in such a context.
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The Manitoba case ruling can be found here:
http://scc.lexum.org/en/2012/2012scc47/2012scc47.html

The Quebec case ruling can be found here:
http://scc.lexum.org/en/2012/2012scc48/2012scc48.html

The CBC’s report on the ruling an be found here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/10/05/supreme-court-hiv-ruling.html

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This week on the Queer Ontario Think Tank, we have Erika Moen’s “Queer”, a comic strip articulating Moen’s experiences with biphobia in the LGBT community. The original comic strip can be found on Erika Moen’s website and is also available in French (both links have been provided for you on the Think Tank website). A Spanish version is currently in the works, t00.
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The project can be viewed at http://thinktank.queerontario.org/2012/09/erika-moen-queer
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Note that it depicts nude bodies and contains biphobic and homophobic language.
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