The Legault government’s Committee of Wise Men on Gender Identity does not have an expert on the subject, nor a trans or non-binary person among its members. However, this representativeness was crucial for the LGBT Council of Quebec, which denounced the passage of the $800,000 budget granted to a committee that it “did not request.”
Family Minister Suzanne Roy announced Tuesday morning that former Council on the Status of Women president Diane Lavallée, constitutional lawyer Patrick Taillon and family doctor Jean-Bernard Trudeau were the three “wise men” chosen by the government to deal with Address issues of gender identity.
Ms. Roy repeatedly referred to the Quebec LGBT Council in her presentation, particularly to ensure that the committee would work “in close collaboration with it.” The group of 70 organizations working with trans and non-binary people were actually consulted before the committee was formed. “We made it very clear to them: we are not in favor of this committee, we did not agree with its composition,” its director general James Galantino summarized to Le Devoir.
A few hours after Quebec’s announcement, “our members are worried and angry,” he stressed. Not only did they not want this committee, it monopolized resources that could have been used to address “more pressing needs,” Mr. Galantino argued. “They are going to pour $800,000 into this committee while we, the groups, are suffering from underfunding, we are struggling to improve our services and there is exhaustion. So it’s definitely a hard pill to swallow. »
The general director of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Sexual Diversity Assistance Coalition, Julie Fortier, reminded Le Devoir that organizations like hers (the coalition is a member of the Quebec LGBT Council) have found it essential to have a gender identity expert – or at least one trans or non-binary person – in committee. “We weren’t happy. We didn’t jump for joy because we knew we wouldn’t have a direct voice on this committee,” Ms. Fortier said.
From “representation”
From Minister Roy’s perspective, a trans or non-binary person would “definitely” have had a “representational” role in the work. “We decided to do it differently,” the elected official said.
For her part, Ms. Lavallée acknowledged that it would “probably” have been unthinkable for a committee dealing with the status of women not to include women in its ranks. For her part, the Minister responsible for the status of women, Martine Biron, welcomed the creation of a committee made up of experienced people “who are able to improve a little”.
To say we are biased because we worry: At this point, it would be like excluding women from the discussion about abortion because they are worried
For activist Celeste Trianon, the composition of the committee is “disappointing”. This is “neither representative of the voices of those affected nor of experts in the field,” she told Le Devoir. The lawyer is also general director of the community organization Juritrans, which helped around 500 people change their name or gender last year.
“There are no transsexuals, no young people either, no expertise recognized by the community. And we are privileged here, we have plenty of it,” she emphasized.
The government’s neutrality argument also annoyed Ms. Trianon. “To say trans people can’t be neutral is a bit of an insult,” she said. “To say we are biased because we are concerned: at this point it would be like excluding women from discussions about abortion because they are concerned,” Mr Galantino also said.
We weren’t happy. We didn’t jump for joy because we knew we wouldn’t have a direct voice on this committee.
Mr. Galantino offered another explanation. “Your analysis [au gouvernement]“That’s because we can be perceived by the public as extremes,” he said. “In their eyes,” it would therefore “not have been neutral to include a trans or non-binary person on this committee.”
Collaboration despite everything
Between two evils, the Quebec LGBT Council said it chose the lesser one: it assured the government of its cooperation. “We found ourselves in a situation where this committee was going to happen with or without us,” Mr. Galantino said. He said he was willing to work with the government “so that the work causes the least damage.” […] and ideally the most advantageous [possible] for communities.”
Ms. Fortier also said she wanted to “give the committee a chance.” “But if at any time we feel that our rights may be rolled back or violated, we will respond with certainty and decisiveness,” she warned.
Minister Roy was clear on this issue. “There is no question of rolling back the existing rights of trans and non-binary people. So big steps have been taken and we will not discuss it and we will not go back,” she reiterated.
For her part, Diane Lavallée committed to “listening carefully.” “The term “wise” for us means that we are talking about people who have enough experience and experience to also have the humility to admit that they are not experts in the field, which will lead us to say several people to consult who they are,” she said. Minister Roy also assured that she had “made this clear to the committee”. [son] The work should be guided by values such as openness, respect and equality.”
The committee’s mandate is to enable Quebec to “equip itself with a common information base, [de] create a space for reflection to drive future government decisions and [d’]Reducing social tensions,” she summarized. The three selected sages must specifically identify Quebec’s public policies, practices and policies in the areas of education, sports and recreation, family, public safety, health and social services.
“Far be it from us to undermine the government’s expertise,” Minister Roy assured. The committee must submit a report and make recommendations in winter 2025.