4 days ago
Gender identity committee: LGBTQ2S+ community slams Quebec for leaving them out of report
A handful of protesters tried to enter a news conference by Quebec's committee on gender identity. (Jean-François Poudrier / Noovo Info)
Quebec is coming under fire from the LGBTQ2S+ community, which says it was not able to review a report on gender identity before its public release – against government promises.
The Conseil québécois LGBT (CQ-LGBT), which represents around 80 community organizations in the province, says it was told it would be able to review the report and reassure its members, but that never happened.
The CQ-LGBT says it has been wary of the committee since it was first announced in December 2023, as it did not represent the community.
The committee was mandated to identify public policies, practices and guidelines in Quebec and elsewhere, to analyze their potential effects on Quebec society, and 'help ease social tension' at a time when groups opposed to teaching gender identity in schools and pro-LGBTQ2S+ groups clashed in hostile demonstrations.
The three-member committee, led by Family Minister Suzanne Roy, also includes Diane Lavallée, former president of the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) and the Conseil du statut de la femme, Dr. Jean-Bernard Trudeau and human rights lawyer Patrick Taillon.
Although none are experts on LGBTQ2S+ issues, the government stated that the committee would work closely with the community.
Despite its opposition, the CQ-LGBT agreed to contribute 'in a constructive spirit.'
'We hope that no other vulnerable group will have to go through what our communities have been experiencing,' said Executive Director Magali Boudon in a news release. 'It is unthinkable to have a committee of men ruling on abortion. At a time when LGBTQ+ people are seeing their rights rolled back across the globe, the government has prolonged the anxiety and violence of this process until the very last minute.'
At first glance, the report relies 'more on persistent stereotypes than on scientific data and the expertise of community groups, which are clear and consistent' on issues like the inclusion of trans women in sports, prisons, toilets, changing rooms and emergency shelters, said the CQ-LGBT.
Protest at National Assembly
A handful of protesters gathered in Quebec City Friday morning to denounce the government for excluding them from discussions on their rights, dignity and living conditions.
They said they wanted to be allowed into the news conference, reserved for journalists.
'Women's rights groups can't meet the government either. Civil society groups are completely cut off from decision-making processes at the government level. We know who has access to the government … we're in a plutocracy,' activist Judith Lefebvre told Noovo Info. 'We have no choice but to keep showing up to make ourselves heard because we don't have access to our elected officials.'
Lefebvre said the community wants a public audience on the issue rather than discussions held behind closed doors.
The protesters were removed, and the news events were pushed back.
With files from Noovo Info.
