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TESA hopeful ID rules signal positive change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--Monday, February 23, 2015--ALBERTA

Announced changes to regulations governing Alberta vital statistics may signal a positive beginning for trans* equality under Alberta law, says the Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA).

"Without being able to see the actual wording of the revised regulations mentioned by the province, it's difficult to say for sure what impact these changes will have," says TESA president Jan Buterman. "Unfortunately, even changes actually enacted into legislation still remain invisible to average Albertans."

Buterman notes that the Alberta Vital Statistics Act posted online still retains language struck down as unconstitutional, despite both the legal case that made the ruling--C.F. v Alberta (Vital Statistics)--and an amendment to the Act in early 2014 that added a reference to the possibility of other regulations that may be consulted for guidance.

"Trans* Albertans face significant hurdles in every imaginable aspect of life," says Buterman. "Announcing but not making changes publicly available or accessible through posted acts, regulations, orders, or policies makes it very difficult for people to know what processes may be available to them. Even if a person might know the current state of such laws, will others who have to administer such things--such as frontline registry agents--be fully appraised of these nuances?"

An early version of the province's announcement indicated that trans* Albertans would be able to update personal documents by providing a legal affidavit from an accredited physician or psychologist. "In our collective experience as trans* patients in Alberta, most doctors do not have easy access to a lawyer during the course of their workdays. The suggestion that trans* Albertans would now need to require what is essentially a third-party affidavit before they could amend their documents was no cause for celebration," says Buterman.

A subsequent revision to the province's news release clarified that a single affidavit required would be from "the applicant."

"Obviously, an individual Albertan may easily go to a registry to swear an affidavit on their own behalf. It's fair that the province might want clear proof that changes to an individual's identification are what that individual is seeking," Buterman says. "However, it's puzzling that trans* Albertans are still being asked to produce a note from a medical professional for what is a non-medical process."

TESA does not support the practise of demanding personal medical information for non-medical purposes. "While the province's news release notes that the medical professional's letter need not make reference to medical interventions such as surgery, requiring such a letter still assumes individuals have access to a doctor in the first place. Additionally, such a requirement also suggests that individuals are not considered competent to make declarations about themselves without a professional first speaking on their behalf," says Buterman.

For those trans* people who do undertake a medical transitioning process, they must seek the supervision of a qualified physician. The process used internationally is established and maintained by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), known as the Standards of Care.

"Clearly, patients needing medical care deserve to have competent medical supervision. However, unlike a medical condition such as diabetes, changing sex has absolutely zero effect on a person's competency and safety to operate a motor vehicle," says Buterman.

One bright spot in the announced changes appears to be a harmonisation between the processes for obtaining an amended birth certificate and a provincial driver's license. After the prior birth certificate amendment process was struck down as unconstitutional, trans* people born in Alberta could amend their birth certificates, then use that amended birth certificate to make permanent amendments to other official documents such as driver's licenses. Unfortunately, Albertans born elsewhere faced section 20.3(1) of the Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation, which contains the same unconstitutional requirement now struck down in the Vital Statistics Act. This meant that without an amended birth certificate, the driver would have to prove changes to their "anatomical sex" before being granted a permanent amendment. Only a temporary change was available, provided that an approved medical professional provided a letter. The new process implied by the province's current news release suggests a mechanism that would apply equally to all trans* Albertans, whether lifelong or recent residents.

"Equal treatment before the law is an important part of Canada's identity as a modern, democratic nation. Alberta taking steps to make such processes equal for all Albertans is to be applauded," says Buterman. "However, until trans* people can openly and clearly see the processes now implemented, it is impossible to know whether these changes will be best described as baby steps or if they are in fact truly placing trans* Albertans on a fully equal footing. As TESA's mission is to be a witness and a voice for matters concerning trans* Albertans, we remain hopeful that the province's actual regulations truly reflect full equality for updating personal documents such as provincially-issued identification."


For further information, please see:

REVISED: Now easier for transgender Albertans to change birth records (2015, February 20)
http://alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=3772698E3BF54-9D46-B509-E746235573BAC7E3

C.F. v. Alberta (Vital Statistics), 2014 ABQB 237
http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/doc/2014/2014abqb237/2014abqb237.pdf

Trans* Identification in Alberta: a brief analysis to Alberta Human Services (2014)
http://www.tesaonline.org/uploads/4/1/5/5/4155431/tesa-2014-report-ab_vital_statistics.pdf


AB -- Bill 12, Statutes Amendment Act, 2014
http://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files/docs/bills/bill/legislature_28/session_2/20140303_bill-012.pdf

AB -- Vital Statistics Act
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/V04P1.pdf

AB -- Vital Statistics Information Regulation [unamended]
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2012_003.pdf

AB -- Traffic Safety Act [unamended]
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/t06.pdf

 AB -- Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2002_320.pdf


CAN -- Charter of Rights and Freedoms
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html


INT -- World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
http://www.wpath.org/site_home.cfm

INT -- WPATH Standards of Care, Version 7
http://admin.associationsonline.com/uploaded_files/140/files/Standards%20of%20Care,%20V7%20Full%20Book.pdf


More information about TESA can be found at www.tesaonline.org

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TRANS EQUALITY SOCIETY of ALBERTA  |  PO Box 2053 Edmonton Main  |  Edmonton  |  Alberta  |  T5J 2P4