A hearing is underway at a Human Rights Adjudication Panel after an individual known as T.A. launched a complaint against the Government of Manitoba.
They allege a breach of section 13 of the Human Rights Code: discrimination based on gender identity in the provision of services.
T.A’s lawyer Susan Ursel says the government can collect whatever information it wants at birth, however, the concern is what happens when the person grows up. She says someone who is pangender has "no options now for them. To have male or female on their document raises conflict and difficulties in their lives."
"My understanding is that it’s extremely difficult to go through the world misgendered, to have no one respect your gender identity. If they identify as female as I do, and yet their driver’s license or birth certificate said they were male, they'd constantly be challenged every time they use that identity document. They might be harassed, they might be discriminated against. They might be accused of using a fraudulent document because there's a mismatch. an incongruence between what the paper says and who you are and presenting as."
Ursel says it could mean the individual is denied services such as a passport or licence since they do not match the document. Ursel would like the government to give consideration to the idea of removing male or female from public documents, or that an alternative letter or word such as "X" or "Unspecified" be available.
T.A. is also asking for $50,000 for injury to dignity, and $25,000 for exemplary damages.
At the hearing Crown Lawyer Leslie Turner said the government is contesting that any of its actions are discriminatory. It says the evidence will not show differential or discriminatory treatment.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Pallister Government writes:
"Our government recognizes that gender identity and expression is an important issue, which is why we continue to have that dialogue as part of our participation in the Vital Statistics Council for Canada, an inter-jurisdictional advisory group composed of heads of vital statistics agencies from across Canada. Birth certificates are foundational documents that establish a person’s identity, impacting many other forms of government issued ID. That is why we need to take the time to get this right and ensure appropriate consistency across jurisdictions."
Manitoba isn't the first Canadian jurisdiction to deal with this issue. Ontario, Alberta and Newfoundland all allow for non-binary markers, such as an 'x', on their birth certificates.
The hearing is expected to last for four days.