Wednesday November 17, 2010
Vancouver council unanimously backs ‘transgender’ bill
By Patrick B. Craine
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vancouver City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to back a controversial federal private members bill seeking to criminalize “discrimination” against the gender-confused.
The motion, brought forward by Councillor Ellen Woodsworth, supported New Democrat MP Bill Siksay’s Bill C-389, which aims to add “gender identity” and “gender expression” as prohibited grounds for discrimination to the Canada Human Rights Act and as identifiable groups in the Criminal Code’s hate crimes legislation.
Siksay’s bill has faced strong criticism from pro-family advocates who warn that it promotes a fluid concept of gender and could create legal nightmares, for example by potentially allowing male cross-dressers the right to use female bathrooms. They have also criticized it for trying to normalize a mental illness, gender identity disorder, which they say will not only harm society but also those who suffer from this disorder.
The motion states that the City of Vancouver “believes” Siksay’s bill is “an essential measure to protect its residents from any and all forms of discrimination, harassment, or violence and enable those residents to contribute their gifts, talents, and skills to the fullest extent.”
The motion was offered in support of the “transgendered and transsexual residents, cross-dressers, drag kings/queens, transsexuals, androgynes, Two-Spirit people, gender variant, gender queer, and people who are bi-gendered, multi-gendered or otherwise identified.”
Woodsworth, who is a member of a municipal party called the Coalition of Progressive Electors, acts as the council’s liaison to the Women’s Advisory Committee and the “LGBTQ” Advisory Committee. She developed the motion in conjunction with the latter, which is an official committee established in 2009 to “enhance access” for the city’s homosexual population.
Siksay’s bill could come up for a vote in the House as early as December. It sailed through a parliamentary committee with no amendments in a vote of 9-2 earlier this month.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
RED ALERT: ‘Scary’ Canadian Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill Sails Thru Committee
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/nov/10110506.html
Transexual Protection Bill Passes Second Reading in Canadian Parliament
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jun/10061107.html
Canadian MP Tables Bill to Protect “Transgendered” People in Canadian Human Rights Act
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052004.html