Saskatchewan government adds gender ‘X’ option to forms like traffic tickets

As the world continues to become more inclusive for all genders, the Government of Saskatchewan is joining in.

For many, acceptance doesn’t come easy. However, SGI and the Government of Saskatchewan are looking to provide inclusion with a new gender option on summary offence forms.

Rather than ‘M’ or ‘F’ for male or female, a third option, ‘X’ is being added for those who identify otherwise.

At the end of April, Saskatchewan Minister of Justice Gordon Wyant approved changes to the current summary offence ticket forms like traffic tickets to provide a gender ‘X’ checkbox.

This change comes after SGI offered the option for people to check the box for ‘X’ on their drivers licences or identification cards in 2019.

After receiving feedback about the change, some said it was not enough.

The option to opt-out of identifying gender was then added in February.

SGI Communications Manager Tyler McMurchy said customers were appreciative of the change.

“It’s heartwarming to see that people can see themselves reflected in their identification and it’s something that we are definitely happy to provide to our customers.”

McMurchy said 342 individuals have checked gender ‘X’ and 24 have left the field blank since the option was implemented.

The Canadian government also provided the gender ‘X’ checkbox for passports across the country back in 2017.

McMurchy added that the demand was not overwhelming for these changes to be added in Saskatchewan.

However, he felt that it is important for those who want their documents to reflect their identity.

The changes will take effect in the fall.