Bill C-279 (The Trans Rights Bill) Passes this Evening in Canadian parliament with 150 in favour, 132 against!

Comment by Caroline Grace on June 7, 2012 at 6:03am

Congratulations. I know how hard these bills are to pass.  Interesting that you mentioned you don't know the details. Might I point out that after passage neither will almost every person around?

Simply said people will know that it is criminal to act up in hate against a transgender person. Regardless of what happens in a individual case, it clearly signals to EVERYONE that society's expectation is that transgender people should be respected and included in equal protection laws. This greater good is the real outcome of this bill, not whether prosecutors use it successfully in 100% of all appropriate cases.

For example, the 1964 Civil Rights bill (USA) bans employment discrimination against people for sex, race, religion, age, etc. What the masses do not know is that it exempts those with less than 15 employees, so the corner store or the gas can say we don't hire women, Christians, Jews, those over 35 years old, or whomever. Society's expectation is that everyone has to treat others fairly.

We all know laws like these won't change the attitudes of those filled with bigotry and hatred. However, for those who could be look to others for guidance in their thinking and judgments, laws like these provide major education and direction. Clearly your bill will influence other nations, too.

So congratulations, Cassie.  I can easily imagine how hard this has been to accomplish.  Well done!

Comment by Caroline Grace on June 7, 2012 at 5:11pm

Congratulations!!! I know how hard these bills are to pass.  Interesting that you mentioned you don't know the details. Might I point out that after passage neither will almost every person around?

Simply said people will know that it is criminal to act up in hate against a transgender person. Regardless of what happens in a individual case, it clearly signals to EVERYONE that society's expectation is that transgender people should be respected and included in equal protection laws. This greater good is the real outcome of this bill, not whether prosecutors use it successfully in 100% of all appropriate cases.

For example, the 1964 Civil Rights bill (USA) bans employment discrimination against people for sex, race, religion, age, etc. What the masses do not know is that it exempts those with less than 15 employees, so the corner store or the gas can say we don't hire women, Christians, Jews, those over 35 years old, or whomever. Society's expectation is that everyone has to treat others fairly.

We all know laws like these won't change the attitudes of those filled with bigotry and hatred. However, for those who look to others for guidance in their thinking and judgments, laws like these provide major education and direction. Clearly your bill will influence other nations, too.

So congratulations, Cassie.  I can easily imagine how hard this has been to accomplish.  Well done!

Comment by Cas B on June 8, 2012 at 2:42am

I agree, it's definitely great news.  It still has a long way to go to be put into practice to make it through our system, but the mere fact that it passed last night's vote is a step forward.  Slowly, we're making progress, and every step counts!

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