We are celebrating an important victory for our communities!
Yesterday morning, the honourable Judge Gregory Moore declared a historic ruling in a lawsuit which was initiated in 2014 by the Centre for Gender Advocacy, a case in which we proudly participated as a youth intervener, in collaboration with the LGBT+ Family Coalition and Egale Canada.
Importantly, the judgment recognizes the serious systemic discrimination that our communities experience and how this discrimination imposes real and profound consequences. Notably, the decision will allow trans people without citizenship to pursue legal aspects of their transition. Additionally, the court declared that enforcing a binary of only man/woman was unconstitutional, opening the door to better legal recognition of non-binary identities. As well, youth will be able to access essential care without requiring a letter of medical assessment. Nevertheless, in the wake of these victories, we remain critical of the fact that the oppressive power of the parental veto on name changes remains in effect for youth under the age of 18, despite the arguments against this in the lawsuit. In addition, our organization regrets that the mandatory sex assignment at birth remains.
Congratulations to all the people involved: the witnesses, lawyers, and interveners, who made tremendous efforts to advance our rights!
We will keep you informed of the outcome of this judgment.
Gender Creative Kids will continue its work to advocate on behalf of trans, non-binary, intersex and gender creative youth.
