Feel the Trans*mentum

Yesterday, Ontario added protections against discrimination on the basis of "gender identity" and "gender expression" to its human rights code. Versions of bill 33 had been brought to Ontario's unicameral legislature three previous times since 2007. Yesterday, it passed with the support of all major parties.

Xtra! reports:

The passage of the bill marks a changing in the tides for the trans movement in Canada. Similar bills are being considered in Manitoba and at the federal level. The House of Commons, too, seems poised to pass a similar bill after seven years of trying.

The bill has enjoyed bipartisan support that all parties have recognized as extraordinary. While the final vote was not carried unanimously, it received two very vocal Progressive Conservative endorsers in Christine Elliott -- who co-signed it -- and Rod Jackson.

“This isn’t the end; this is probably just the beginning,” Jackson said.

Liberal MPP Glen Murray, grinning, said, “It’s not often I get a chance to be a part of making history.”

This victory for the trans community comes on the heels of the passage of Bill 13, the anti-bullying law that will work toward including gay-straight alliances in all Ontario schools.

H/t to CaitieCat