Saint John transgender woman fights to change birth certificate

A Saint Johntransgenderwoman is preparing to file a complaint to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission to change thegenderon her birth certificate and driver licence from male to female.

GloriaHalvorsenlegally changed her name in May, and while her driver's licence displays an updatedname and photo, she is nowfightingto have the indicated genderchanged.

She said it's one of her final steps in confirming her identity and finding acceptanceas a transgender woman.

Halvorsenplans to file a complaint to the Human Rights Commission on the grounds of undue hardship and physicaldiscrimination.

The province's Vital Statistics Act says sex designation can be changed only with proof of gender reassignment surgery.

Applicationscan include a certificate signed by a medical practitioner who performed the surgery, a signed certificate from a medical practitioner who examined the applicantor any necessary supporting medical evidence.

While Halvorsen has beenundergoing hormone replacement therapy,she said she cannot get the full surgery after receiving prostatecancer-related surgeries and radiation treatment.

"I'm taking the province to task," she said.

"I feel that it's discriminatory.

"I can't do all this surgery [unlike]someone else that's physically able.Why because I'm physically unable to do thisam I not allowedto have the sameprivilege?"

In addition to surgical complications, Halvorsen, who is also covering her own medical costs for hormone therapy,said she isn't able to afford gender reassignment surgery.

"I am financially unable to pay for such surgeries," she said.

"I would say it's undue hardship.

"There's an old saying, 'Rich man,poor man law.' I feel thisa great example of that," she said.

"I can't afford to do it, so I can't have it. And I can't change the [gender] marker, because they require me to do [the surgery]. I'm kind of in a Catch-22 with the system that way."

Halvorsen is waiting on a report from one of the country's few specializedgender reassignment surgeonsin Montreal. The reportwill definitively outlinewhatsurgeries Halvorsen can and cannot haveand the specificcosts involved.

"That's really the only hold right now," she said.

Playing catch-up with other provinces

AmyOttesonis a member of NewBrunswickTransgenderHealth Network,a group of health professionals and community members whowork togetheras an entity to improve health services for the province'stransgendercommunity.

Governmentsarerealizing thatthisishuman rights issue[and] thattransgenderpeopledeserve to have the samerightsas other people- Amy Otteson, NB Transgender Health Network

Gender reassignment surgery and changes to the Vital Statistics Act are two of the most pressing subjects the network is currently focusing on.

"We have as a group drafted letters to the health minister to request thegovernmentlook into amending our policy," saidOtteson.

"Governmentsarerealizing thatthisishuman rights issue [and]thattransgenderpeopledeserve to have the samerightsas other people."

Service New Brunswick did not respond to our request for our interview Monday.

OttesonacknowledgedHalvorsen'scase and said, with the price of the surgery, changing a gender marker isprohibitive.

"It's something thatpeoplelikeCaitlynJennercan afford, but people likemost NewBrunswickerscan't afford most surgeries," she said, referring tothe reality star from the U.S.,formerlyknown asBruceJenneranOlympic gold-medaldecathlete,whodebuted as a woman in Vanity Fair's June issue.

Halvorsen'sinterest in a human rights complaint comesonthe heels of a changeto Newfoundland and Labrador'sVital Statistics Act, which, like New Brunswick, currently allowsgender identity changes onlywith proof of gender reassignment surgery.

KyraRees, atransgenderactivist in St. John's,filed an application with the province'sSupreme Courtunder the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomslast November, asking thatthe legislation be changed.

Rees won the court battle last Wednesday, and changes will be made to the act during the House of Assembly'snext session.

Similar changes to sex designation lawshave happened in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba.

Halvorsen pointedout that New Brunswick's Act falls behind the rest of the country, and that it's not an issue that shouldbe overlooked.

"In the case of transgenders, it's not ...just wanting to change their clothes or goinginto another bathroom," she said.

"It's about identity and who we are.

"To change your gender can be very destructive socially. People lose their families over this.They lose employment. This is not something to take lightly."