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Transgender Rights in Canada: Legal, Medical and Labour Union Activities

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Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations

Abstract

Canada has one of the best records on gay, lesbian and bisexual rights in the world. It was an early adopter of inclusive human rights legislation and one of the first countries to enshrine same-sex marriage in law. Canada’s record on extending rights to transgendered citizens has been slower. Most provinces and territories now have human rights protections, but coverage for medical and psychological services varies widely across the country. Our examination uncovers movement toward the inclusion of gender identify as a separate category in non-discrimination language, but in only a few cases are there provisions to cover medical and surgical procedures not covered by the state, or for paid leave while surgical procedures are taking place. Many unions have identified these issues as important in upcoming rounds of collective bargaining.

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Correspondence to Gerald Hunt .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Hunt, G., Pelz, M. (2016). Transgender Rights in Canada: Legal, Medical and Labour Union Activities. In: Köllen, T. (eds) Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29623-4_8

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