Working together with trans and gender diverse people as well as a multiparty group of Members of Parliament, we have made some considerable progress in moving trans rights forward. Trans and gender diverse Canadians now enjoy formal human rights protections under the law with the passage of Bill C-16 in 2017. Following this monumental legal change, the Government of Canada needs to continue to make the necessary policy changes to make Canada a safer and more inclusive place for trans and gender diverse people. We have come a long way, but we have much more work to do.
Canada has an opportunity to be a world leader at a time when hate movements around the globe are trying to eliminate trans and gender diverse people from existence.
The goal of this white paper is to provide real solutions to real problems faced by trans and gender diverse people. These solutions require continuous critical reflection on transphobia to ensure that progress on trans and gender diverse rights continues and that equality of rights means equality in fact.
Trans and gender diverse people are no less diverse than 2SLGBTQI+ people are in general. Therefore, policymakers must take an intersectional approach that is sensitive to differences in the circumstances of trans and gender diverse individuals and communities and differences in forms of hate and exclusions directed against trans and gender diverse people. Colonialism, racism, transphobia, misogyny, poverty, ableism, and ageism are all factors that continue to shape who and how people are marginalized within 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
This white paper is divided into ten sections including; support and empower trans and gender diverse organizations, access to gender-affirming healthcare, hate and violence, identity documents, refugees, employment equity, sports, blood and organ donations, prisoners rights, and sex work and HIV decriminalization.
‘White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People’ is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0