This time it’s for real. After more than two years of waiting, people who applied for a health insurance card with the gender marker “X” will be able to receive it as early as mid-October.
More than 27 months after adopting a law allowing Quebecers to register their non-binary identity on their civil status documents, the government of François Legault adopted a regulation on Wednesday so that the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) can also issue such documents.
This measure is scheduled to come into effect on October 10. As of that day, the 600 or so people who have already requested a change to their gender designation from the RAMQ will simply have to wait for the “usual postal delays” to receive their new card.
It’s the end of a long ordeal for health insurance beneficiaries who want to see their identity documents marked with an “X” — for “non-binary.” Last March, François Legault’s government had opened the door for the RAMQ and the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to receive requests to this effect.
In April, the RAMQ had maintained in an email exchange that the new cards would arrive “soon, for sure.” The same was true of the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron, who went so far as to say that they would be available at the beginning of May.
However, in August, the RAMQ had not yet issued any identity document with an “X” marker, it was confirmed The DutyThe organization then justified itself by stating that it had to wait for regulatory changes from the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Since this spring, it has already been possible to apply for a driver’s license with an “X” mark at the SAAQ. Since the amendments to the law that came into force in 2022, any request to change the marker to the Director of Civil Status is reflected on the birth certificate, on that of the children and on the marriage or civil union certificate, if applicable.