Trans community hails Quebec Civil Code ruling, says there's still work to be done

For Sophia D'Aoust, last week'slandmark decision by the Quebec Superior Court to re-word sections of the province's civil code is welcome news but not the end of the battle for the province's transgender population.

The court decision invalidated several articles of the Civil Code of Quebec, including one that prevented people from changing the sex listed on a document known in the province as an "act of birth."

It also struck down a provision that required someone to be identified as either a mother or a father in birth documents, rather than simply as a parent.

• Judge's ruling on Quebec's Civil Code hailed as victory for trans, non-binary people

"That's a ruling [but it]doesn't change society,"said D'Aoust, a transgender woman andpresident of Gender Mosaic, a social and support group for transgender people in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

"Society needs to be changed through education, through understanding, through comprehension, through support, through acceptance and love."

The judgment has been heralded a major victory for transgender Quebecers, including non-binary people who don't identify with either gender.

D'Aoust said she doesn't believe a court ruling changes people's hearts or minds, however, and that while the decision isgood news there's always the possibility it could be reversed later.

But if Thursday's decision can lower the suicide attempt rate among transgender people more than 40 per cent by some estimates then it's a win in her eyes.

"For now, what's exciting about that is that when we have our [identification] papers, we can say ... we are a parent instead of saying we are a father or mother," she said.

'Step in the right direction'

Faun Lebowitz, a member of Trans Outaouais, called the decision "fantastic," saying it will simplify the lives of many transgender people.

"First of all, it will streamline the process," said Lebowitz, who doesn't have preferred pronouns. "The fact of the matter is, getting anything changed in the government [always involves] jumping through hoops."

Lebowitz said community members often feel harmed when they're misgendered or identified by their old name, and the court's ruling was "a step in the right direction to eliminate that."

Still, the ruling could have gone further, Lebowitz said, as it upheld a parent's right to object to their child's request for a name change.

"It doesn't give [young people] that power over their own name, right?"Lebowitzsaid. "So it's not consistent, and it should have been addressed."

For D'Aoust, the province could also make greater investments into education, helping Quebecers better understand what it means to be transgender.

"Laws and rulings by a judge are very nice. But they're definitely just the tip of the iceberg," D'Aoust said.