REGINA – Members of the transgender community share similar tales of abuse.
“It’s amounted to physical assault, it’s amounted to lack of any kind of compassionate health care service,” UR Pride Centre Leo Kaiser said.
But now, a new bill by the federal government looks to enshrine their basic human rights.
“The law must be clear and explicit, Transgender and other transdiverse person must be able to live free from discrimination, hate propaganda, and hate crime,” Federal Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould said.
READ MORE: The fight for trans rights: a matter of life and death
The bill, if passed, would make it illegal to discriminate against any person because of their gender identity.
It’s welcome news for TransSask, a transgender community advocacy group.
“I think this is phenomenal. This is something that needs to be done,” TransSask co-chair Autumn Lapointe Bourque said.
But while it’s a step in the right direction, Bourque said more needs to be done.
“There’s been verbal abuse, there’s been a lot of verbal threats etc.”
“There are so many people under the trans-umbrella that are unable to find work or unable to hold a job or they have issues with unfair work practices.”
In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Justice said the news out of Ottawa is more than just symbolic.
“I think for the people of the community, it’s very important recognizing the fact that their rights are being specifically protected,” Justice Minister Gordon Wyant explained.
The Minister said he will be tabling legislation this session to move towards being more inclusive.
Since February, Transgender people can correct their gender on their birth certificate without proving they had surgery because of a consent order issued by the Court of Queen’s Bench.
READ MORE: Lawsuit filed against the province over transgender human rights complaints
“We recognized that the practice of requiring that gender reassignment surgery is discriminatory so we’ll be removing that,” Wyant said.
It’s something the opposition NDP said they’ll be following closely.
We’re going to make sure the government has done consultation and we’ll be prepared to work with the government,” David Forbes, NDP Critic for Human Rights, Diversity and Equality, said.
As all levels of government move towards that goal of equality, people on the frontlines said it’s just another step in a very long journey.
“Without education, this might not be as impactful as we would like for it to be,” Kaiser said.
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