Inclusion of Gender Identity and Gender Expression within the Canadian Human Rights Act

Inclusion of Gender Identity and Gender Expression
within the Canadian Human Rights Act

To: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

cc: The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and Bill Siksay, Member of Parliament for Burnaby-Douglas

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, IN RECOGNIZING:


That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (1948), affirms that all human beings are born freeand equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that instrument, without distinction of any kind;

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, adopted by the Ninth International Conference of American States (1948), establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person;

That the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008, reaffirms that the principle of non-discrimination requires that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity;

That the Charter of the Organization of American States proclaims that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;

That Resolution AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10) Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity, adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States on June 8, 2010 as presented by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, condemns acts of violence and human rights violations committed against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity;

That the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity reaffirms that all human beings of all sexual orientations and gender identities are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights;

That the Canadian Human Rights Act establishes the principle that all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have and to have their needs accommodated, consistent with their duties and obligations as members of society, without being hindered in or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices;

AND NOTING WITH CONCERN the acts of violence and related human rights violations as well as discrimination practiced against persons because of their gender identity or gender expression;

Respectfully request that entitlement to protection under the law be afforded to transgender and gender-variant Canadians through the inclusion within the Canadian Human Rights Act of the terms gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination.