Transgender Rights One Step Closer To Reality
The House of Commons has voted on Bill C-16 after the second reading and now the bill is headed to the justice committee. The vote passed by a margin of 248 to 40.
The bill will need to pass the Senate sometime in the future. The bill would require changes to the Criminal code to include gender identity and expression as well as protections against hate speech.
Transgender rights will be further enshrined in the Canadian Human Rights Act, making it unlawful to deny someone a job based on their gender identity and expression, including discrimination in the work place.
85% of Canadians In Favour
The bill was voted on exactly one year after Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister. A poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute earlier this year asked Canadians if they would support legislation that would add gender identity as a prohibited ground for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act and a vast majority of Canadians, 85% would support Bill C-16.
Conservative leader hopeful, Brad Trost, known for his stand against marriage equality, was not allowed by his party to deliver a statement in the House of Commons in opposition to Bill C-16. Rona Ambrose, interim leader of the Conservative Party and 37 other Tory MP’s voted in favor of the Bill.
