FF Vol. 2, #6

Please support Bill C-279

Bill C-279 is a Private Member’s Bill introduced by NDP MP Randall Garrison (Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca) – a piece of Canadian legislation that would add “gender identity” to the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code. An example of such an amendment would be this change to section 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code:

(i) evidence that the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor,

What that means practically is: right now, if someone on the street calls me “tranny” and then breaks my jaw, it’s assault. If this bill passes, it’s assault and a hate crime, the same as a gay-bashing or racially-motivated attack. Either way it sucks, but in the latter case, my attacker would face harsher consequences. This probably won’t act as a deterrent against such crimes (the kinds of people who commit hate crimes probably don’t spend much time weighing pros and cons before they act), but it would send the message that here in Canada, it’s not cool to hurt someone because of how they look.

God willing, I’ll never need to avail myself of such legal “benefits”, but others certainly will – the current state of trans activism and acceptance in Canada is roughly on par with where gay & lesbians were in the 1950s. Bill C-279 is a good and necessary piece of legislation, and its enactment (or the enactment of something similar) is inevitable. In fact, an ancestor of C-279 passed through Parliment in 2011, but died in the Senate without being considered once the election was called, like a basketball abandoned on the playground once the recess bell rings.

As a result, Bill C-279 has to start from scratch. Last night it went through its Committee Consideration, where Members were permitted to speak up for or against it, and in spite some pedantry from the Conservatives who spoke, the bill seemed to have a lot of support from across the country. Private Member’s Bills don’t often survive the gauntlet of Parliament and Senate, but I (and my jaw) sure hope this one makes it all the way though!

You can follow the progress of Bill C-279 here.

2 months ago  /  1 note
tags: trans canada c-279