File photo The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has struck down a rule that required trans people to undergo "transexual surgery" in order to change the sex category on their birth certificate. It comes after a trans woman complained she was discriminated against because she could not change her legal documents unless she had surgery. The tribunal found that the Vital Statistics Act requirement of “transsexual surgery” prior to changing the sex designation on a birth certificate discriminates against trans people. The provincial government has now been ordered to remove this stipulation. “They completely knocked that out,” lawyer N. Nicole Nussbaum has told Canadian glbti news website Xtra.ca. “The Tribunal doesn’t have the authority to strike down a law, but they can say the law is not enforceable.” Ontario now has 180 days to revise the criteria for sex designation change. Nussbaum says the precedent-setting decision could force legislation changes in other provinces and territories. Read the full story here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 17th April 2012 - 2:26pm