The Yukon government has introduced a trans rights bill in a pledge bring the territory’s human rights in line with other Canadian jurisdictions.
Bill 5 was introduced in the Yukon legislature on April 25, 2017. The bill amends the Yukon Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on “gender identity or gender expression” and amends the Vital Statistics Act to allow a change of gender on a birth certificate without gender-confirming surgery.
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The revised act will also allow gender-neutral markers to be used on birth certificates.
“All Yukoners have the right to be free from discrimination and harassment because of their gender identity or gender expression,” Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said in a press release. “Our laws will soon be a better reflection of Yukon’s rich diversity.”
The Northwest Territories was one of the first jurisdictions in Canada to amend its human-rights code in 2002 to include “gender identity”.
Federally, Bill C-16 is currently awaiting final reading in the Senate. That bill would amend the federal Canadian Human Rights Act and to add trans people to listed categories under the hate crimes section of the criminal code .
