According to my Canadian sis Mercedes Allen of Dented Blue Mercedes, Bill C-389, which would give Canadian transpeople employment/housing non-discrimination and hate crimes inclusion in one bill, is alive, well and about to come up for debate next month.
The bill was authored by Bill Siksay, and since it was a private members bill, did not die when the Sweater Vest prorogued Parliament.To my Canadian readers, y'all know what to do. Call or write your MP and urge them to pass this bill. If you don't know who that person is, just click on this link to get you started.
Bill C-389 if passed would add gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the hate crimes provisions of the Criminal Code, alongside prohibited grounds of discrimination such as race, religion, and sexual orientation.
I've written about MP Siksay's two previous attempts to pass this bill, and here's hoping that the third time is the charm as the old saying goes.Those of us south of the 49th parallel are probably on the sidelines watching and waiting to see how this plays out. I hope the Canadian Parliament will move to grant rights to their fellow trans citizens.
It's ironic that our Canadian trans cousins may get their rights this year while the US Congress dithers on giving transpeople employment protections.
But in the interim, while you're waiting for that historic debate to happen in Ottawa, time for you transpeeps living in the Great White North to help yourselves.
Call, write, and tell your stories to your MP's. Don't assume because they belong to a certain party they won't listen. They need to know you live in their ridings, are taxpaying Canadian citizens and vote.
With any luck you'll be celebrating a success that we can point to to get our congresscritters motivated to do the right thing.
