Thursday, December 10, 2015

Federal Canadian Trans Rights Bill Introduced For Third Time

Randall Garrison is seen with trans rights advocates Erin Apsit (left), Amanda Ryan, Sophia D'Aoust and Nicki Ward in this February 2012 photo.
Now that Canada has moved on from a Conservative majority government to a Liberal majority one under newly inaugurated prime minister Justin Trudeau, the NDP's LGBTQ Critic and MP Randall Garrison as promised will try again for the third time to introduce a federal trans rights bill.

The Trans Rights Bill, now numbered as Bill C-204, was introduced yesterday.  Bill C-204 is a private member's bill authored by Garrison that will once again attempt to if passed, give trans Canadians federal human rights coverage by amending the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Criminal Code to include gender identity and gender expression.

C-279, the previous Trans Rights Bill authored by Garrison passed the House of Commons in the previous session of parliament in 2013 but was shadily stalled and bogged down short of Third Reading passage by Canadian Senate Conservatives.

The Liberal majority has promised to introduce their own bill, and we'll see how fast it happens.

But one thing our trans Canadian cousins and their allies like MP Garrison all agree on is that it is past time for their home and native land to protect the human rights of their trans citizens.

And those of us south of the border hope after some disappointments, that it happens soon.

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