A Historic Victory for the Transgender and Non-Binary community of Quebec

On January 28, 2021, a landmark judgement (Center for Gender Advocacy c. Attorney General of Quebec, 2021 QCCS 191) was rendered by the Superior Court of Quebec, this ruling represents a historic victory for the transgender and non-binary community in the province. In this decision, Justice Gregory Moore declared several provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec as invalid as they violated the dignity and equality rights of non-binary people protected by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Quebec legislature has been given until December 31st, 2021 to amend the relevant discriminatory provisions.

Although there is still more work to be done, the ruling sets an important precedent for the recognition that everyone has the right to have their identity recognized by our legislative framework. The main points from the judgement are as follows:

1. This decision invalidated certain provisions that did not recognize the existence of non-binary identity with respect to the designation of sex on certain acts or certificates. Moving forward, individuals who do not identify with “male” or “female” will now have the right to a non-binary designation.

2. Provisions that were found to violate the dignity and equality rights of non-citizens residing in Quebec were declared invalid, and non-citizen residents will now have the right to change their name on legal documents, without being required to be a Canadian citizen.

3. Transgender and non-binary youth aged 14 and above will now be able to apply to have their sex designation changed, without the legal requirement of an attestation from a health professional, which was invalidated by the Court.

4. Transgender and non-binary parents will now have the right to change their parental sex designation on a child’s birth certificate. Although the invalidated provisions previously required parents to be identified as “mother” and “father” on a birth certificate, even when there were two same sex parents, parents will now have the right to identified as “parent”.

While we await the upcoming legislative amendments, our team at Spunt & Carin are here to assist you and to provide insight on what this landmark decision could mean for you moving forward!