Turnaround in Quebec. People who identify as non-binary will now be able to request that their driving license and health insurance card be marked with the symbol “X” without having to wait for the conclusions of the “committee of wise men” on gender identity.
The duty was able to confirm this information, first reported by Radio-Canada on Monday morning. According to the office of the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, the directives were sent to the Régie de l’assurance santé du Québec (RAMQ) and the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
By allowing anyone who requests it to write “X” rather than “F” or “M” on their identity documents, the government is behind the spirit of its own law, adopted in 2022 by the Minister of Justice , Simon Jolin-Barrette, and which allowed people who requested it to have their gender marker modified in civil status documents.
Last December, Quebec said it wanted to wait for its committee of wise people, appointed by Minister Roy, to take a position before authorizing such steps. However, the RAMQ and the SAAQ had already received at that time several requests from members wishing to modify their identity documents to affirm themselves as non-binary.
In fact, according to exchanges obtained by The duty under the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, the government office to combat homophobia and transphobia (BLCHT) contacted the RAMQ at the end of 2022 to know how it would proceed to allow the use of an “X” designation in its systems.
“Attached, a first draft of government guidelines. This document has been reviewed by lawyers from [ministère de la Justice] “, wrote Jonathan Vidal, a BLCHT manager, at the beginning of November 2022. “For discussion at the meeting on November 16. A more precise timetable may be agreed upon at this meeting. You can already start commenting or improving this version if you wish. »
Even before the changes to the law, moreover, the RAMQ had “begun work with the aim of targeting the various products (e.g. communications, systems, online services) and services (plans and programs) for which the mention of sex is currently used. “Work will begin soon to review communications with customers with a view to removing the gendered aspect,” wrote an advisor within the Directorate for the Development of Customer Services and Risk Management. RAMQ, Gabrielle Poulin, in May 2022.
Upcoming deadlines
Asked about the new directives from the Legault government on Monday, the Régie indicated that it welcomed “this decision which will make it possible to respond to the need expressed by some of its customers”. “The RAMQ will work today to establish a precise timetable in collaboration with its various partners to implement this decision. In addition, we will communicate in the coming days with people who have already submitted a request for a card with an
At the SAAQ too, “customers who had made the request will soon be contacted to inform them of the possibility of having the mention Monday.
Alexe Frédéric Migneault, a non-binary person who made headlines last year by starting a hunger strike so that the RAMQ would allow him to add the X marker to his health insurance card, reacted on his Facebook profile , Tuesday, demanding an apology from the Legault government. “He admits that he kept us waiting for nothing, and that his little “thinking” game was pointless, since the result is the same. »
Recently, the RAMQ offered to participate in a mediation process, despite the Legault government’s desire to wait for a return from its committee of wise men. The conclusions of this group — which does not include any trans or non-binary people — are expected in 2025.
With Dave Christmas