Saskatchewan residents can now request to have the sex designation on their Saskatchewan-issued driver’s licence or Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) photo identification be left blank.
This is in addition to the currently available “M,” “F” or “X” sex indicator options available on these identification documents.
The decision comes following a human rights complaint that was filed with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC). In a statement distributed on Tuesday, the SHRC said it was part of a settlement agreement achieved through the commission’s complaint resolution process.
“The Commission welcomes this change as a sign of progress in our province,” said Barry Wilcox, who serves as the chief commissioner of the SHRC.
“Two-spirit, transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming (2STNBGN) people face discrimination in housing, employment and travel. This happens, in part, because of the discrepancy between gender expression and government-issued identification. The recent change implemented by SGI will help address some of these issues.”
According to SGI, the request can be made by customers of any age. The process will not require any documentation and customers will not be charged for requesting the change.
SGI said in a statement on Tuesday that customers will need to visit a motor licence issuer in order to request the blank option.
“The option to have no sex designation on identification and licences is part of SGI’s commitment to inclusiveness,” stated Penny McCune, SGI chief operating officer of the SGI Auto Fund. “We have customers who wish to refrain from identifying with any sex on their identification. This change gives them flexibility in how they are identified on SGI documents.”
However, SGI is warning customers that they cannot guarantee a driver’s licence or photo ID card with either the unspecified “X” sex designation or the blank no sex designation will be accepted by other organizations in Canada or internationally.
The Crown corporation said customers who make these requests will be informed of these considerations.
The Court of Queen’s Bench issued a consent order in 2016 in response to the human rights complaint. According to the order, transgender adults in Saskatchewan who want the gender designation on their birth certificate changed no longer require surgery to receive new identification.
Two years later, a pair of human rights complaints resulted in a court order to allow people under the age of 18 in Saskatchewan to apply changes to the gender field on their birth certificate, which required the provincial government to allow for “M” and “F” designations to be removed from the document.
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