(Quebec) Simon Jolin-Barrette says he is “very open to finding a way forward” to ensure that the trans community, which criticizes provisions deemed to be “transphobic” in Bill 2, “feel at home. ‘comfortable’ with the government’s proposal for sex change in civil status.
“I have heard the criticism and take note of it. I will think about all of this, but I can really tell you that I am in solution mode to make sure that the LGBTQ community [et] the trans community feels comfortable with all that, ”said the Minister of Justice on Tuesday during a brief scrum in Quebec.
The Legault government has been defending since last week changes to the Civil Code proposed as part of the imposing Bill 2. It wants to impose again on Quebecers who modify the designation of sex on their civil status documents (such as birth certificate) that they undergo to do a permanent genital surgery.
In return, Quebec proposes to allow citizens who request it to add a gender identity to their documents (male, female or non-binary). This new information would not contradict the mention of sex, in the event, for example, that a trans person who has not had a genital operation, but who identifies with a gender opposite to his sex declared at birth, wishes modify its documents. In such event, the reference to sex will be removed to include only gender identity, the minister said.
“The government’s desire is to include as many Quebeckers as possible in their gender identity and that they can express themselves,” Mr. Jolin-Barrette said on Tuesday. He recalled that these proposed changes to the Civil Code respond to a recent judgment of the Superior Court which invalidated articles deemed discriminatory against trans and non-binary people.
“This is the first time in Quebec legislation that the notion of gender has been inserted. It had never been done, it is a step forward to ensure that people can express themselves according to their gender identity on their [documents] of civil status ”, justified the Minister of Justice.
A petition is launched
For a few days now, groups defending the rights of trans people have recalled that the community wishes to keep a right acquired in 2015 to change the designation of sex on their civil status documents without performing surgery. Trans people do not want to be required to fall back on a mention of gender identity, which Quebec proposes, claiming that this would amount to imposing a coming out forced, since only trans people would request it.
Press reports on Tuesday that organizations that defend the rights of trans people or offer them support have received a growing volume of calls since the Legault government introduced a bill that would again make gender reassignment dependent on the state civilian genital surgery. The Quebec LGBT Council has also launched a petition to challenge members of Parliament.
“The bill wants to take us back in time, again requiring these people to have surgery to gain the right to be respected for who they are. They will then have to keep the birth certificate which does not correspond to their identity, which stigmatizes them and makes them subject to a great deal of violence and discrimination, in addition to causing great suffering and distress, ”he says. -we.