N.L. activist receives one of Canada's first gender-neutral passports

When Gemma Hickey receivedone of Canada'sfirst gender-neutral passports, they naturally planned a trip.

And with anLGTB history-makingdocument in hand, they planned a tripto an LGTB history-making spot: the Frankfurter Engel, a memorial to gay people persecuted and executed by the Nazis.

"My eyes filled up with tears thinking about how far we'd come as a province and as a country," Hickeysaid.

"Feeling like I was a part of that was a really big moment for me."

The government of Canada began issuing gender-neutral passports Aug. 31. It's the first North American country to do so, and joinsa handful of other countries across the globe offering the option, including Denmark, Germany and Australia.

"I was first in line," Hickey told TheSt. John's Morning Show.

'Triumphant and wonderful'

Hickey, who doesn't identify as a male or a female and uses the pronoun "they," picked up the passportOct. 5. There was a slight delay since they'd surrendered their old birth certificate in favour a new, gender-neutral one, which also made history: it's believed to be the first gender-neutral birth certificate ever issuedin Newfoundland and Labrador.

They said the moment was "triumphant and wonderful," and that everybody at the Service Canada office was "very proud" to be part of it.

The passport allows Hickey to identify their gender as "X," which they say is a common symbol for people who don't identify with the male or female gender.

'We exist and we're here'

A gender-neutral passportmeans a lot for a number of reasons, Hickeysaid.

When trans or non-binary people look different from the gender on their documentation, things can get "uncomfortable" with airport staff and security, theysaid.

But Hickey said there were no problems at all during the trip to Europe with the gender-neutral document in hand.

"It means a lot to people who are transgender to have their identification cards match how they identifyand it certainly makes a difference with how people see you and how people treat you."

It also affords non-binary travellers the same rightsas male and female travellers.

"We existand we're here and we deserve the same rights as everyone else."

With files from The St. John's Morning Show

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