The Legault government is making a 180-degree turn on the Radio-Canada sex issue.
This news is surprising since the Legault government had promised not to make a decision on the X marker until its Committee of Wise Men on Gender Identity (New Window) presents its final report in the winter of 2025.
Recently, the Committee of Wise Men informed us of the findings made on this topic [ses] However, the family minister and head of the committee, Suzanne Roy, states research and advisory work in a written statement.
Given the consensus reached and shared by the committee, the Quebec government agrees that the X-marker can now be placed on health insurance cards and driver's licenses, as is already the case with birth certificates and other civil status documents, it confirms.
The X marker can now be used by people who apply for it, subject to the same rules that already apply to civil status.
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Family Minister Suzanne Roy is responsible for the Committee of Wise Men on Gender Identity.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel
Since 2022, trans and non-binary people can legally change their gender marker assigned at birth with the Quebec registrar to receive the letter X, which recognizes their gender identity, instead of M or F.
So far, more than 530 people in Quebec have made this change. However, ministries and authorities had still not adapted to this new reality.
Trans and non-binary people therefore continue to argue with the Régie de l'assurance santé du Québec (RAMQ) and with the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) because their health insurance card and driver's license do not reflect theirs recognized identity, which regularly gets them into trouble.
The president of the Commission on Human and Youth Rights had also called on the Legault government to act as quickly as possible as Quebec lags behind other Canadian provinces.
We had to go this route
In an interview with Radio-Canada, the President of the Committee of Wise Men, Diane Lavallée, confirmed that after various meetings with concerned organizations, a consensus quickly emerged on the issue of the X-marker.
Ms Lavallée says she informed the minister in February as the committee's position would remain the same whether the government expects the final report in 2025 or not.
“We have seen that the legal framework suggests that it is necessary to move in this direction, so it is like government coherence,” explains the chairman of the Committee of Wise Men.
The failure to move forward called into question respect for the rights of non-binary people and did not comply with the law passed in June 2022. Nor did it have any consequences for the entire population of Quebec. [mais] it had more positive consequences for the people affected.
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Diane Lavallée, President of the Elders Committee on Gender Identity
Photo: Radio-Canada
“If our work, our comments could progress more quickly in this decision-making, we are happy for the people affected,” says Ms. Lavallée.
Even if the marker contains important data.
To date, Quebec was the only Canadian province that did not allow the X mark on driver's licenses. As for the health insurance card, Quebec and Alberta were the only two provinces that did not allow this mark. Ontario has simply stopped reporting gender on health cards since 2016.
Exceptional publication
However, Ms Lavallée warns that the Committee of Wise Men will not interfere in other gender identity issues until it has submitted its final report. His appearance on the X-Marker is therefore exceptional.
We do not intend – I also speak on behalf of my colleagues – to comment individually on current issues that arise during our term of office.
In her written statement, Minister Suzanne Roy recalled that the mandate of the Committee of Wise Men casts a wide net.
The committee will continue its work on issues related to gender identity that affect broader society in areas such as education, health, sports and public safety, she said.
The issue of medical sexual transition of minors, recently raised in a report on the program Enquête, will also be one of the topics that the Committee of Wise Men will address, as well as social and legal transition, points out Ms. Lavallée .