Quebec gender identity committee lacks transgender representation: activist

The Quebec government named members of a new gender identity advisory committee to address issues surrounding gender identity.

This comes after the CAQ promised to create a committee in response to demonstrations across the country over gender identity in schools.

However a member of the transgender community in Quebec is troubled by the lack of representation in the committee.

“The government does not trust trans people,” trans activist Celeste Trianon told CityNews. “They think we’re a community that needs to be put under some form of legal tutorship, that is at least the basic gist. At the same time, it’s also a lack of trust on the government and in the people who are most concerned by this. Trans people are currently facing unprecedented levels of discrimination in a long time.

“It’s basically having a committee on abortion that is made only of cisgender heterosexual men, it’s the same thing.”

Quebec Minister of Families Suzanne Roy announced a three-person advisory committee on Tuesday. The committee’s goals include developing an information base, creating a forum to inform future government decisions, and reducing social tensions.

The Conseil québécois LGBT, a federation of 70 organizations supporting trans and non-binary individuals, will work with the committee to collaborate on these efforts.

“I know the big mandate is combatting disinformation, which I absolutely do have to commend the government on, but at the same time, current social climate, it’s very much scary,” said Trianon. “People aren’t feeling safe.”

Education Minister Bernard Drainville proposed the creation of a committee to examine gender identity issues in Quebec in September. This came after he requested a school in western Quebec to back down on its decision to implement gender-neutral washrooms.

“First and foremost, governments really (need to) start listening when it comes to trans issues,” Trianon said. “So this means, for example, making sure that whenever the government, when they really want to work on something that concerns trans people, to consult them a little bit – like how you would do for basically any other marginalized community.”

In a statement to CityNews, Quebec’s Families Ministry said it is “sensitive to the concerns” of transgender and non-binary individuals following the creation of the committee.

“However, we want to reiterate that there is no question of stepping back on existing rights,” a spokesperson for the minister said. “We have met with the Conseil québécois LGBT, which brings together the vast majority of organizations working for and with transgender and non-binary individuals. We have jointly concluded that the council will play a special role to ensure the representation of their perspective and expertise throughout the committee’s work. This collaboration is clearly outlined in the committee’s mandate.”

Trianon called the government’s statement “quite blank.”

“It just doesn’t feel like the government is actually taking trans people’s needs seriously.”

On the three-person advisory committee are Diane Lavallée (former FIQ nurses’ union boss); Dr. Jean-Bernard Trudeau (former deputy director general of the Quebec College of Physicians; and Patrick Taillon (professor of law).