Transgender people born in Ontario can change birth-certificate gender without surgery, province says
Canadian Press
Published: Oct 12, 2012 1:36 PM ET | Last Updated: Oct 12, 2012 1:46 PM EThttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/12/transgender-people-in-ontario-can-change-birth-certificate-gender-without-surgery-province-says/
Trans Lobby Group chair Susan Gapka, seen above in a 2011 file photo (PHOTO:Matthew Sherwood for National Post)People who live as the opposite sex in Ontario can now change their gender on their birth certificates without first undergoing sex-change surgery.
New rules that have recently come into effect allow transgender people born in the province to apply to have the document amended by submitting a letter from a practicing physician or a psychologist.
Susan Gapka, chair of the Trans Lobby Group, hailed the change as a crucial step for the transgender community in having their gender identity recognized.
"We're going to celebrate this victory — because it is a victory, it's a giant leap forward," she said.
"Trans people's identification will more easily match their presentation to the public."
It stems from a ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario this April in the case of a born-male woman known as XY.
The tribunal found the legislation requiring proof of "transsexual surgery" to alter birth documents to be discriminatory.