CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island, November 15, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Prince Edward Island’s justice minister has brought forward legislation that would add ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in its Human Rights Act.
The bill was tabled Thursday by Justice Minister Janice Sherry, but has not yet been voted on.
Just last week Newfoundland's justice minister announced he would be bringing forward similar legislation to add ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ to its Human Rights Act.
If passed in both provinces, PEI and Newfoundland would join Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories.
Similar legislation is currently in the federal senate, but has only been voted on by the the human rights committee, which was 9-1 in favour of it.
This type of legislation, dubbed the “bathroom bill”, has been opposed by many family organizations because of the potential outcomes, including men who call themselves transgender being permitted to be in women’s washrooms, showers, and change rooms.
The groups Abegweit Rainbow Collective AIDS P.E.I., and P.E.I. Native Council have been advocating for this change in PEI since August 2009.