Manitobans will soon have a non-binary gender option on birth certificates.
The province is allowing the third option in addition to “male” or “female” on official birth documents.
The Progressive Conservative government says people will also have the option of not selecting any sex designation on birth and death certificates once a bill currently before the legislature is passed into law.
“In response to a ruling from the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, the Vital Statistics Agency is implementing policy changes to be more inclusive to Manitobans,” Finance Minister Scott Fielding said in a release.
Last November, a human rights adjudicator ordered the province to pay $50,000 to a transgender individual who wanted the sex designation on their birth certificate replaced with an “X” but was denied.
The complainant, who was identified as T.A. because of a publication ban, filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission after the request was turned down in 2014.
The independent adjudicator who heard the case, Dan Manning, ruled that the government’s actions were discriminatory and gave the province six months to start offering a third designation.
Some other provinces have already adopted gender-neutral identity documents.
Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador allow people to choose “X” as a gender indicator _ or to not display any gender _ on birth certificates, driver’s licences and other documents.
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘Love at first sight’: Snow leopard at Toronto Zoo pregnant for 1st time
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
Comments