Gender Expression and Gender Identity Human Rights Law in Ontario Schools
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A.B. v. Ontario (Education)
While the applicant was unsuccessful, this case is still important. Here, the OHRT affirmed that teachers must include LGBTQ+ students in their sexual education curriculum because the Human Rights Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms require them to.
Centre for Gender Advocacy c. Quebec (Attorney General)
This is a foundational case as the Court stated that binary gender identification is unconstitutional. Additionally, the Court held that trans parents are able to change their gender on their children's birth certificate, and have the gender-neutral option of being recognized as a "parent" rather than a "mother" or "father". Finally, the Court struck down the requirement that an individual must be a Canadian citizen to undergo a name or gender change on official documents.
C.F. v. Alberta (Vital Statistics)
This case highlights the importance of transgender individual's access to legal documents that reflect their lived experience. Additionally, it shows how Alberta's birth registration system (where only two genders, male and female, are recognized) greatly contributes to the discrimination of transgender individuals. C.F. kickstarted many legal reforms Canada-wide regarding trans people's access to identity documents.
Quebec (Human Rights Comm.) v. Anglsberger
The success of this case shows that transgender individuals have been protected by human rights law for decades.
T.A. v. Manitoba (Justice)
T.A. is the first adjudication in Manitoba on the ground of gender identity. This particular decision is important as Manitoba Vital Statistics was ordered to revise the criteria for changing sex designation to include the recognition of non-binary individuals, therefore expanding the list of gender markers beyond the male/female binary.
X.Y. v. Ontario (Government and Consumer Services)
This case affirms the importance of self-identifying gender for legal purposes.
About Gegi Law
law.gegi.ca is an online knowledge mobilization hub created by Dr. Kyle Kirkup (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa), Dr. Lee Airton (Faculty of Education, Queen’s University), and their research team. The goal of law.gegi.ca is provide legal information to help people better understand gender expression and gender identity human rights law in Ontario.
The site contains a variety of legal resources, including information on the Ontario Human Rights Code, where to access legal advice for a specific legal problem, and examples of publicly-accessible decisions of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. law.gegi.ca does not provide legal advice.
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