From Thursday, Canadians can identify as gender neutral on their passports, a move warmly welcomed by LGBT rights campaigners. The change makes Canada the first country in the Americas to offer an 'X' gender category, joining Australia, Denmark, Germany, Malta, New Zealand and Pakistan.
Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said in a statement last week: 'All Canadians should feel safe to be themselves, live according to their gender identity and express their gender as they choose. By introducing an 'X' gender designation in our government-issued documents, we are taking an important step towards advancing equality for all Canadians regardless of gender identity or expression.'
Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale, a Canadian LGBT human rights organisation, said the move acknowledges challenges faced by non-binary, intersex and trans individuals. However, she stressed it 'does not address many of the underlying issues' and called for lobbying to remove gender markers from passports altogether.
Concerns remain for travellers using the 'X' marker. Adrienne Smith, a Toronto immigration lawyer specialising in transgender legal issues, warned that in countries where being LGBT is illegal, such as Uganda and Jamaica, travellers could face arbitrary detention or degrading treatment.
In the UK, campaigners have long called for a similar policy. Rebecca Stinson, head of trans inclusion at Stonewall, said: 'It's great to see Canada introduce a gender-neutral option on passports and we would like this approach to be adopted by the UK.' She noted that current gender recording on official documents leaves many trans people afraid to travel.
