By the end of August, transgendered Canadians will be able to identify themselves as “X” when filling out the gender portion of their passport application, CBC reports.
Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussein said the amendment is all about equality for Canadians who don’t want to identify themselves in the traditional way as either male or female.
“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,” Hussen said in a statement.
On Aug. 31, a new policy from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will include permitting passport applicants to identify themselves as a third gender or “unspecified.” The Liberal government is in the process of revising the official passport form and will soon issue a new document that includes an X box beside the usual F and M boxes.
The government is reminding people that not every country recognizes a third gender and that travelers should assess such difficulties before leaving Canada.
The change is all part of a controversial new law in Canada, Bill C-16, that recognizes transgenderism as an essential human right and insists that upon the use of “gender-neutral” language; non-compliance could result in being charged with hate speech.
Canadian Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is on record as saying the new transgender law would be reflected in all federal government departments.
IRCC previously amended its polices so that people would no longer have to provide proof of a sex change in order to change their gender classification on any department-issue documents.
[contentcards url=”http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/25/canada-adds-x-choice-to-gender-section-of-passports/” target=”_blank”]Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].