Quebec committee charged with analyzing gender identity issues releases lengthy report
Report was mired in controversy due to makeup of committee
A Quebec committee tasked with advising the government on gender identity issues has penned a 280-page report addressing various matters tied to the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
The report, which is extensive in scope, largely recommends further study and consultation concerning the support and care given to trans people.
Among its concrete recommendations, however, is a suggestion that schools in Quebec maintain gendered bathrooms, but also add gender-neutral bathrooms.
The head of the committee, Diane Lavallée, former president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) and the Conseil du statut de la femme, said the committee met with more than 200 people before publishing its report.
"It's important for us that Quebec continues to fight against discrimination and intimidation against trans or non-binary people and respect their rights and their needs, in health matters, notably," she said.
"This also has to be done respecting the legitimate concerns of all other groups, notably parents and women."
Even before its publication, the report was mired in controversy. When Quebec's family minister unveiled the committee in 2023, 2SLGBTQ+ groups decried the fact that none of the three committee members were members of the community.
A technical briefing at which the committee was scheduled to present the results of their report was delayed on Friday as trans protesters holding a banner that said "say it to our face" tried to attend but were barred.
Police in Quebec City, where the event was taking place, escorted the protesters from the building.
'For trans women, this report is frightening': advocate
The Conseil québécois LGBT (CQ-LGBT) said in a media release that the organization would take note of the report's conclusions over the coming week. But it criticized the composition of the committee and the absence of 2SLGBTQ+ members.
"We hope that no other vulnerable group will have to go through what our communities have been experiencing since December 2023," said Magali Boudon, the executive director of CQ-LGBT.
"In a context where LGBTQ+ people are seeing their rights roll back across the globe, the government will have prolonged the anxiety and violence of this process until the very last minute."
Victoria Legault, executive director of Aide aux Trans du Québec, said the report was "steeped in misogyny."
She said the report singled out trans women and girls on subjects like sports and access to bathrooms, but in reality, she said they are most likely to be victims of violence.
"It is very heartbreaking that they kind of point a finger at us and portray trans women as being a menace or threat," she said.
Celeste Trianon, a trans advocate, believes the report was purposely designed to be written by non-experts who don't understand the concerns of trans people. She said, though the report defends sex education and the role of schools in making trans youth feel welcomed, it misses the mark for her in other areas.
She said the report's language around trans people's access to bathrooms, for instance, seemed to open the door to future anti-trans legislation.
"For trans women, this report is frightening," she said.
The lengthy report weighed in on subjects as diverse as sports and the presence of trans people in prisons, noting, in many cases, the need for further study of contentious issues.
The committee also issued suggestions, including supporting the right for a trans person to be imprisoned in a prison corresponding with their gender identity with the caveat that a panel agrees their transition is genuine and it is suitable for them and for the people with whom they would be imprisoned.
On the issue of women in sports, the committee suggested maintaining gendered sports programs but said the government should support sports associations that want to establish mixed programs.
Trans people, the committee noted, need better access to health care throughout the province.
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