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Queer Ontario’s Statement on Bill C-16 & Responsible Follow Up

May 19th, 2016 Comments off

For Immediate Release May 18, 2016

Queer Ontario Applauds Federal Government’s Proposed Bill C-16:Urges Responsible Follow Up

Toronto: Queer Ontario applauds the proposed Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, to include both gender identity and gender expression in human rights and criminal code legislation. We are particularly encouraged by the broad, non-binary language of the proposed bill to ensure protection of transsexual, transgender and intersex people regardless of where they place themselves on the gender spectrum

Some of the worst cases of discrimination and harassment are experienced by the trans and intersex populations and such human rights and criminal code protections are long over due. Passage of Bill C-16 in the House of Commons and similar action by the Senate would extend these much needed rights and protections for populations who have long felt excluded from Canadian society. Hence, we urge MPs to support Bill C-16 and vote in favour of it becoming legislation.

Further to Bill C-16 becoming law, Queer Ontario urges the government to undertake responsible implementation by addressing ID issues, establishing gender-neutral washrooms, education at airports and other border crossings, protections in federal prisons and inclusion in the national census. Providing rights and protections for trans and intersex people is a first step, yet implementing such legislation in a way that improves the quality of their lives will speak to a real sense of inclusion and acceptance in Canadian society.

Queer Ontario is a provincial network of gender and sexually diverse individuals — and their allies — who are committed to questioning, challenging, and reforming the laws, institutional practices, and social norms that regulate queer people. Operating under liberationist and sex-positive principles, we fight for accessibility, recognition, and pluralism, using social media and other tactics to engage in political action, public education, and coalition building.

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Updates on the Amendment of the Federal ‘Gender Identity’ Bill

March 7th, 2013 Comments off

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Today, the House of Commons heard the second hour of debate on the proposed amendments to Bill C-279, the bill to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds. This second-hour of debate was followed by a vote on the proposed amendments.
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Most significantly, the House of Commons voted in favour of:
(1) moving forward with the motion to remove ‘gender expression’ from the bill, to leave only ‘gender identity’; and
(2) moving forward with the motion to add the proposed definition of ‘gender identity’ to the bill, which is:

Gender identity means, in respect of an individual, the individual’s deeply felt internal individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex that the individual was assigned at birth.

The final vote on the amendments and the final bill will take place March 20th.
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Moving Forward…

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If you haven’t already done so, please write to your MP to request that they support the bill.
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A list of current MPs, with a link to their contact information, can be found here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx
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If you are unsure of who your MP is, you can find your riding here http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/FindED.aspx and search for it in the MP list above.
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Feel free to share this note with your contacts
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Update on the Progress of Bill C-279, the Federal ‘Gender Identity’ Bill

February 28th, 2013 Comments off

Wednesday, February 27, 2013
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Today, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights was to report on the outcomes of their consideration of Bill C-279, the federal bill to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. Sponsoring MP Randy Garrison reported that the Justice Committee was unable to finish its consideration and discussion of the bill given the interruption of the last meeting by unregistered Conservative MP Dave Anderson. As a result, he requested that the Speaker allow the outstanding motions to be heard, considered, and voted on during the Justice Committee Report Stage.
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The Speaker ruled that the Justice Committee’s discussions were effectively incomplete and therefore allowed the outstanding motions from the last Justice Committee meeting to be heard and discussed live, then and there, in the House of Commons. One of two hours of discussion was had today, with the second hour of discussion continuing at a later date. Votes to approve the outstanding amendments will follow thereafter.
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An audio recording of the discussion regarding Bill C-279 can be found on the Parliamentary website at: http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Parlvu/TimeBandit/PowerBrowser_SilverLight.aspx?ContentEntityId=10085&EssenceFormatID=443&date=20130227&lang=en. The discussion begins at 4:33 and ends shortly before the 5:40 mark.
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