FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6^th, 2010

Call to Action on Bill C-389: Trans Rights Bill

Toronto: In response to the chorus of voices demanding adequate legislative protection for trans individuals in Canada, Bill Siksay, NDP MP for Burnaby Douglas, introduced a private member's bill this year supporting trans rights (Bill C-389). The bill will add the words “gender identity” and “gender expression” to the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) under its prohibited grounds of discrimination, and crimes motivated by transphobia will be included on the list of crimes treated as potential hate crimes. This kind of explicit reference within the CHRA will afford trans individuals clearer protection against discrimination and help create a safer Canada for all of us.

Bill C-389 will enter its third reading in the House of Commons tomorrow, December 7, 2010, and is quite close to becoming law. Egale asks all Canadians to stand in solidarity with trans communities throughout the country by sending your messages of support to MP Siksay and other members of the committee who voted in favour of Bill C-389. By sending your messages of support, you’ll be showing the committee members that you appreciate their efforts as well as helping them to keep working towards making Bill C-389 official policy.

Over the course of the past year, the murders of 175 trans people from around the world have been reported to the Trans Murder Monitoring project (Transgender Europe). These hate-motivated transphobic murders only account for those that have been reported, leaving analysts to speculate about the true numbers of transphobic murders committed yearly everywhere around the globe. Transphobic violence and murder are global phenomena and will remain our horrifying reality unless governments and communities around the world organize and educate to eradicate transphobia.

Within Canada, trans individuals frequently face discrimination, dramatically affecting their access to basic necessities like housing, health care, employment, and even education. Egale’s First National School Climate Survey Report “Youth Speak Up about Homophobia and Transphobia” revealed that 95% of trans students feel unsafe at school; almost half had skipped school because of feeling unsafe; 90% had been verbally harassed at school about their gender expression; and almost two-fifths had been physically harassed at school because of their gender expression. Effectively tackling the transphobic issues at the root of these disheartening statistics requires a thorough and measured response that includes the full cooperation of the Canadian government.

You can help make full and equal protection under the law for Canadian trans individuals a reality by following these simple steps:

• Cut and paste this letter into your email program; add your own comments; and send your message to the following Members of Parliament who supported Bill C-389 in committee:

[Insert Name Here], MP
[Insert Riding Here]
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

Dear MP [Insert Name],

I'm writing you in support of Bill C-389, the Trans Rights Bill. I applaud and encourage your efforts to include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination within the Canadian Human Rights Act as well as the inclusion of transphobic hate crimes within the Criminal Code. Finally, I support you in your efforts to educate all members of the House of Commons about trans matters, and I encourage each of these to vote in favour of C-389 after having considered their responsibilities to the many transgender, transsexual, cross-dresser, intersex, gender-queer, gender non-conforming, and gender-open individuals in their own constituency and throughout the country.

In thanks and support,

[Your Name Here]
[Your Address Info Here]

• Find your Member of Parliament’s contact information Here, and send them the following email with your own comments:

[Insert Name Here], MP
[Insert Riding Here]
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

Dear MP [Insert Name],

I'm writing you in support of Bill C-389, the Trans Rights Bill. As a resident of your constituency, I would like to stress the importance of including “gender identity” and “gender expression” as prohibited grounds for discrimination within the Canadian Human Rights Act as well as the inclusion of a “transphobic hate crime” within the Criminal Code. Finally, when voting on C-389, I encourage you to strongly consider your responsibilities to the many transgender, transsexual, cross-dresser, intersex, gender-queer, gender non-conforming, and gender-open individuals in your own constituency and throughout the country.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]
[Your Address Info Here]

Egale Canada ©2011

Canada's LGBT human rights organization: advancing equality, diversity, education, and justice.