ARPA Note: We have followed this bill extensively but encourage you to persist in opposing it. You can find a sample letter and contact information for all the Senators here. Find a video, action items, and more information here.

REAL WOMEN OF CANADA – June 4, 2013: The bill on the transgendered (Bill C-279) is now being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Human Rights.  Supporters of this bill claim that it is merely a “simple” amendment to extend human rights protection to another category of deserving individuals.

Yet, when the bill was reviewed by the House of Commons Justice Committee in December, 2012, testimony was provided by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and also the officials from the Department of Justice. They testified that there was no requirement to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, since the transgendered were already protected under the category of “sex” in the Canadian Human Rights Act.  They also referred to the existence of substantial case law to support this position.

Why, then, has this transgendered bill been placed before Parliament?

 

The answer appears to be that the bill is intended to be interpreted by the human rights tribunals and the courts in order to extend its reach to a number of other problematic sexual activities, including pedophilia.  That is, the broad definition of the expression, “gender identity”, included in this bill, will eventually have to be interpreted by the appointed human rights tribunal and courts to determine the meaning of these words.  This intention was confirmed by MP Randall Garrison, who introduced the bill, when he stated in the homosexual newspaper, Xtra (June 5, 2012), “Once gender identity is in the human rights code, the courts and human rights commissions will interpret what that means.”

This is a matter of deep concern since, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission, “gender identity” includes the following:

The phrase sex and or gender identity is used … as a broad term to refer to diverse sex and or gender identities and expressions.  It includes being transgender, trans, transsexual and intersex.  It also includes being androgynous, agender, a cross dresser, a drag queen, gender fluid, genderqueer, intergender, neutrois, pansexual, pan-gendered, a third gender, and a third sex…

It would seem, therefore, that this bill may have been brought before Parliament for purposes other than promoting sound public policy. Rather it will be used to extend legal protection to other questionable sexual activities without having these matters exposed to Parliamentary debate.  That is, this is an attempt to deliberately by-pass Parliament, where these changes may not be acceptable.

This devious manipulation, using the smokescreen of the transgendered bill to expand legal protection for other problematic sexual activities, is unacceptable as it is contrary to all democratic principles and to the health and safety of Canadian citizens.

For further information on the foregoing, please contact either:

C. Gwendolyn Landolt Diane Watts
National Vice-President Researcher
REAL Women of Canada REAL Women of Canada
(905) 787-0348 (613) 236-4001
e-mail:  [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]

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