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On Wednesday, August 1, 2012, Queer Ontario submitted the following [first] document to Alexandra Schmidt, Senior Policy Advisor for ServiceOntario, in response to ServiceOntario’s consultation document regarding an amended criteria for a change of sex designation on an Ontario Birth Registration. As expected, Queer Ontario was not one of the organizations contacted to provide feedback on the document, but we were thankfully alerted to it, five days before the due date, by a firm supporter. Unfortunately, given the short timeline, we were unable to fully enact our discussion and consensus process, so the document we submitted was not given our full critical attention. Therefore, we are providing a second document that puts forward a critical analysis of the sex designation process, and highlights/elucidates the points made in our original submission.
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Indeed, we felt that the questions and terms put forward by ServiceOntario would replicate the problems already present with the sex designation process, since it still conflated “sex” with “gender” and ignores the concept of a “sex identity”. We are positive our recommendations would be equally beneficial for transsexual, transgender, intersex, sex-neutral, gender-queer, two-spirited, bi-gendered, and gender-neutral people alike.
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Queer Ontario’s Submission to ServiceOntario:

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This just in:
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Susan Gapka of the Trans Lobby Group has just informed us that NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo will re-introduce Toby’s Act to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Ontario Human Rights Code. This will happen on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at approximately 3:00 pm.
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We encourage all available members to visit the public gallery at Queen’s Park to join the Trans Lobby Group and show their support for the Bill.
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Stay connected for further details on how you can support these efforts to have gender identity and gender expression written into the Ontario Human Rights Code.
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With thanks,
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The Queer Ontario Steering Committee
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The following letter was sent to Karen Stintz, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 16 and current Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, regarding the gender-specificity of the TTC’s Request Stop Program.

The correspondence between Andy Vatiliotou and the TTC can be found on his Facebook Group, Safety for All — A Demand to Modify the TTC’s Request Stop Program.
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