NDP MP Randall Garrison is optimistic his private member’s bill, C-279, will retain support from 15 Conservative MPs when it is reintroduced in the House of Commons at report stage Feb 27.
The bill aims to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to prevent discrimination against trans Canadians.
Posted: 02/12/2013 - 00:00
Posted: 12/06/2012 - 00:00
Posted: 10/31/2012 - 11:32
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden said transgender discrimination is "the civil rights issue of our time" during a visit to a Florida field office on Tuesday, according to pool reports.
Biden was meeting with volunteers at an Obama for America office in Sarasota, Fla., when he singled out one woman "who he thought had beautiful eyes," reads the pool report. The woman said something to Biden that was inaudible to the pool reporter, but Biden responded to her by saying it was the "civil rights issue of our time."
Posted: 10/22/2012 - 20:15
TORONTO - Last week, a transphobic and hateful piece of literature was handed out on Bloor West in the riding of Parkdale-High Park. The piece targeted the trans community, and Parkdale-High Park MPP Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo.
Last June, Dinovo’s Private Member’s Bill known as ‘Toby’s Law’ was passed and became law in Ontario. The new law extends human rights protections trans people.
Posted: 10/11/2012 - 00:00
The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) is looking to push lawmakers to follow Ontario’s lead and amend the province’s Human Rights Act to include the terms "gender identity" and "gender expression.”
Kevin Kindred, the chair of NSRAP, says Nova Scotia needs these changes to protect trans people from discrimination.
"The particular push in Nova Scotia came about because of the progress at the federal level, and within other provinces," he says.
Posted: 10/04/2012 - 00:00
Conservative MP Rob Anders (Calgary West) has reached out to his constituents and local church pastor with a petition against C-279, the federal bill that would add human rights protections based on “Gender Identity,” and
Posted: 06/13/2012 - 00:00
Cheri DiNovo’s battle is over.
In a somewhat anti-climactic morning session of the Ontario legislature, members of all three parties stood to support the long-awaited passage of Toby's Act, a bill the NDP MPP has been championing for years.
Posted: 04/10/2012 - 00:00
NEW YORK, N.Y.—A rule change that would allow transgender women to participate in the Miss Universe beauty pageant next year is a step forward for equality, advocates said Tuesday after pageant officials announced the policy shift.
Pageant officials said they are working on the language of the official rule policy change but expected final word to come soon. The rules will have to be approved by Donald Trump, who runs the Miss Universe Organization, and NBC. Trump and NBC co-own the contest.
Posted: 02/24/2012 - 00:00
In a Feb 22 editorial, Rob Salerno asks “Does insisting on enumeration actually reduce trans peoples’ civil rights?”
Since the ground of “sex” in the Ontario Human Rights Code already covers “gender identity “and” gender expression implicitly, Salerno ponders the necessity of bills such as Toby’s Act, which would seek to add explicit protection. “It’s unclear if the bill will actually help trans people. On the contrary, it seems the ongoing debate is doing more harm than good,” he writes.
Posted: 02/22/2012 - 00:00
UPDATE: Feb 22 - Members of the Trans Lobby Group watched with reserved excitement as NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo tabled Toby’s Law for the fourth time at Queen’s Park Feb 21.
The bill will amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include gender identity and gender expression. This is the first time the bill has the support of all three political parties, which DiNovo says may help to speed its passing.
Ottawa Centre Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi says he proudly put his name on the bill.
