Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (Egale) is Canada’s only national charity working to improve the lives of LGBTQI2S people in Canada and to enhance the global response to LGBTQI2S issues. We are writing to you in support of Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, and urge you to do the same.

From our own work with and among transgender and gender diverse communities, Egale is acutely aware of how necessary this legislation is for the safety and well-being of trans and gender diverse Canadians. The intent of Bill C-16 is to recognize the human rights of trans and gender diverse people and to protect them from violence, harassment, discrimination, and hate crimes – experiences all too common for these communities in Canada.

By adding gender identity and gender expression as explicitly protected grounds to the Canadian Human Rights Act, the federal government will be taking a significant step toward recognizing trans and gender diverse communities as worthy of dignity and respect.

We sincerely encourage you to demonstrate your support for Bill C-16 and ensure that trans and gender diverse human rights are protected and recognized in Canada.