The shit hit the fan in the trans blogosphere last night, when it came to light that there is a disturbing new section in the Identity Screening Regulations used in airports throughout Canada. Simply put, Transgender People are Completely Banned From Boarding Airplanes in Canada.
The offending section of the regulations reads:
5.2 (1) An air carrier shall not transport a passenger if …
(c) the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents;
Although this obviously discriminatory smear of regulation did not come to significant public attention until very recently, it apparently came into effect on July 27th, 2011.
It is important to note that these regulations are not actually a piece of legislation, which would have had to pass through readings and votes in the House and Senate (which is probably why it went unnoticed until now). Rather, the Identity Screening Regulations are a set of rules implemented unilaterally by the Ministry of Transportation, as part of Canada’s so-called Passenger Protect, which is essentially the Canadian Federal Government’s equivalent to the U.S.’s “no-fly” list.
Minister of Transportation Denis Lebel is, of course, a federal Conservative MP appointed to the cabinet position by Stephen Harper.
So what does this mean? Well, in order to change the ‘sex’ designation on a Canadian Passport, the federal government requires proof that surgery has taken place, or will take place within one year. So for non-operative transgender persons, for gender nonconforming (genderqueer) persons, and for the vast majority of pre-operative transsexual persons, it is literally impossible to obtain proper travel documentation marked with the sex designation which “matches” the gender identity in which they live.
In the eyes of the honourable Minister of Transportation, that makes trans people unfit to fly in Canada.
It is interesting to note that this regulatory adjustment occurred immediately following the federal election in 2011. In the previous parliament, Bill C-389, a bill to amend the Human Rights Code to explicitly enshrine protections against discrimination for transgender people, had successfully passed in the House of Commons, only to die on the Senate floor when Harper declared a Federal Election (thereby dissolving parliament).
Is the timing of this disturbing and blatantly discriminatory regulatory adjustment merely a coincidence? That is up to you to decide. However, the negative impact on trans people is crystal clear, and we need to take action now.
![It all started about a year ago when Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield (R) finally (after six years) got his state to adopt a law forbidding kindergarten teachers from mentioning homosexuality. Called the “Don’t say Gay” bill, it was amended before it could be voted on, since the bill as written was redundant to existing law. It then was amended a second time to add an enforcement clause. That was then.
More recently, Campfield defended his bill and added more of his thoughts during an interview with Michelangelo Signorile:
On bullying: “That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there. There are sexually confused children who could be pushed into a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate with them and … they don’t know how they can get back from that.”
On “Don’t Say Gay”: “If someone, a person of influence, says maybe you’re gay, maybe you should explore those things—maybe the child, who is young and impressionable, says maybe I am gay.”
On AIDS: “Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community—it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall.”
On heterosexual sex: “My understanding is that it is virtually—not completely, but virtually—impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex … very rarely [transmitted].”
On gay men: “What’s the average lifespan of a homosexual? it’s very short. Google it yourself.”
Remember: politicians believe they’re better, smarter, and more important than you. And this is a perfect example of their poody head thinking…](http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lym8pzfOsS1qbq86qo1_400.jpg)
