Canadians from all walks of life are urged to write their Members of Parliament and Senators to condemn proposed changes that would entrench inequality into law for some Canadians. The Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA) notes that inequality is bad for everyone.
"Canada has a lot of bad history. In the past, Canada has chosen to disrespect and outright trash the rights of Canadians many times," says TESA president Jan Buterman. "Aboriginal families torn apart for forced residential schooling, Canadians of Ukrainian and Japanese descent sent to internment camps during wartime, Quebecois arrested without due process. The list goes on."
Despite a will in later years to attempt to reconcile these tragedies with Canada as modern democracy, a handful of Canadian senators have now chosen to amend a federal bill in a way that would strip trans* Canadians of their existing equality rights. On February 25, 2015, majority members of the Senate's Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee voted in favour of an amendment to a trans*-rights' bill that would eviscerate existing equality rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"The majority senators sitting on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee have signalled their intent to create more bad history," says Buterman. "No Canadian should rest easy over such a decision. What can be taken away from one group can be taken away from any group."
TESA's campaign, #transrights NOT #trashrights encourages people to write their Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators to rescind this amendment and defend the equality rights of all Canadians.
"TESA also hopes to help all Canadians, including trans* Canadians, understand that trans* people already have rights," Buterman says, noting that many people falsely believe Bill C-279, an act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to add "gender identity"
would grant trans* Canadians rights for the first time.
TESA's mission is to be a witness and a voice for matters concerning
trans* Albertans. As changes to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code both have implications for Albertans, TESA considers Bill
C-279 to fall within its mandate.
"In fact, all Canadians have rights equally affirmed under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The trouble is, sometimes people believe
trans* people do not have rights," Buterman says. "The Trans Equality Society of Alberta has supported Bill C-279 on the basis of helping clarify that the 'everyone' and 'every individual' mentioned in the Charter includes trans* people."
This lack of clarity has meant that many trans* people have first had to prove that their existence is legitimate before being able to have the actual issue that brings them before a tribunal or court of law addressed. Clarifying trans* inclusion in Canadian law would have addressed this systemic failing, as well as reduce attempts to de-legitimise the existence of trans* people before the law.
Buterman notes that all too often, even trans* people are unaware of already having rights. "All Canadians have rights, without exception. In the larger context of human rights, the only qualification to having human rights is to be a human. However, even experts with substantial knowledge of Canada's constitution have noted that the lack of explicit enumeration poses problems for trans* people being able to enjoy their equality rights."
The LaForest Report was released 15 years ago, in 2000. In this report, the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel recommended "that gender identity be added to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the [Canadian Human Rights] Act,"[1] further noting that "We agree with the view that transgendered individuals are already protected from discrimination on the ground of sex or the combined grounds of sex and disability. However, to leave the law as it stands would fail to acknowledge the situation of transgendered individuals and allow the issues to remain invisible."[2]
TESA has insisted that allowing the issues to remain invisible is untenable and unreasonable. TESA further asserts that these latest amendments to Bill C-279 cannot stand.
"At the very least, the attempt to enshrine inequality in Canadian law is an affront to human dignity," says Buterman. "But it's more than
that: it's a decision that flies in the face of everything Canada claims about itself. Allowing our nation to legalise arbitrary and capricious discrimination against one identifiable group cannot possibly set a good precedent for the rights of other Canadians in years to come."
CITATIONS:
[1] Annex C, Summary of Recommendations #123--La Forest, G., Black, W.W., Dupuis, R., & Jain, H.C. Promoting Equality: A New Vision [report by the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel; "La Forest Report"].
Ontario, Canada: Attorney General of Canada. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/J2-168-2000E.pdf
[2] Ibid.--Chapter 17(d)
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Sample letter:
Dear [Senator _________? / MP___________? ]
As a citizen of Canada, a nation committed to equal rights for all citizens, I call on you to rescind recent amendments to Bill C-279 that would deny equality for trans* Canadians on the basis of their gender identity.
As you know, Bill C-279 was created to help clarify existing equality rights shared by all Canadians. Unfortunately, despite the fact that
trans* Canadians have the same rights as all other Canadians, many
trans* people are unable to enjoy these rights to the fullest thanks to other people not understanding or not respecting these equality rights.
Additionally, Bill C-279 would help authorities to consider gender identity with regards to hate crimes under the Criminal Code, a welcome addition given the rampant violence against trans* and gender non-conforming people both in Canada and worldwide.
Sadly, the Senate's actions taken on February 25, 2015, signal an unwillingness to respect trans* Canadians' existing equality rights and instead the Senate expects to replace those rights with explicit inequality and exclusion from some federal facilities. Such an amendment is not acceptable. Such an amendment is a disgrace to our nation.
The government of Canada already has a long, sad history of exclusionary acts, including the internment of Canadians of Ukrainian and Japanese descent, the tragedy of residential schools, as well as other acts that reflect a lack of respect and support for equal rights for all. But such acts should remain firmly in our history. We should learn from our past mistakes and not choose to add to this disgraceful legacy of exclusion.
Now more than ever, trans* Canadians need trans* rights, not trash rights. Parliament did not see fit to add discriminatory provisions to Bill C-279. Canada's Senate has a proud tradition as the chamber of 'sober second thought' yet these second thoughts have led to a sobering disregard for some of Canada's most marginalised citizens. Rescind this shameful amendment now and uphold Canada's claims to being a leader in human rights.
I look forward to your prompt action to defend equality rights for all Canadians.
[first and last name]
[contact information]
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES related to Bill C-279:
TESA RESOURCES:
TESA -- campaign media release
http://www.tesaonline.org/federal-equality-campaign.html
TESA -- campaign tweet
https://twitter.com/tesaonlineorg/status/572646479489179649
TESA -- #transrights NOT #trashrights campaign page (includes background, sample letter, contact information, and additional reference
materials)
http://www.tesaonline.org/nottrashrights.html
TESA -- testimony to the Senate: Including the term Gender Identity in Canadian Statutes: Bill C-279 http://www.tesaonline.org/lcjc2014-c279.html
TESA -- resource page detailing trans* rights in all Canadian provinces and territories http://www.tesaonline.org/human-rights-across-canada.html
CANADA RESOURCES:
CAN -- Bill C-279 [unamended]
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=6256603&File=24
CAN -- Charter of Rights and Freedoms
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html
CAN -- Canadian Human Rights Act
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/page-1.html#he
CAN -- Criminal Code
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46
CANADIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION RESOURCES:
TESTIMONY -- Protect rights of transgender people: testimony of Ian Fine, Canadian Human Rights Commission to Senate standing committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding Bill C-279 (2012, November 22) http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/eng/content/protect-rights-transgender-people
TESTIMONY -- Chief commissioner speaks on the inclusion of Gender Identity as a ground of discrimination: testimony of David Langtry, Canadian Human Rights Commission to Senate standing committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding Bill C-279 (2013, June 3) http://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/chief-commissioner-speaks-inclusion-gender-identity-ground-discrimination
More information about TESA can be found at www.tesaonline.org
