Transgender voices on Bill C-16 and the struggles that led to it
CBC News | Posted: May 18, 2016 9:00 AM | Last Updated: May 18, 2016
Liberals' new legislation aims to eliminate discrimination everywhere from workplace to health care system
Transgender Canadians are greeting the proposed new legal protections introduced in the Liberals' Bill C-16 Tuesday with cautious optimism, describing them as a significant first step in creating the awareness necessary to counter the widespread discrimination they've faced everywhere from the workplace to the health care system.
"It's an important first step to have a legal basis to challenge the obstacles that we face in the community," said Melissa Hudson.
She and several other members of the transgender community in Toronto spoke to CBC about how Bill C-16 might change their own lives and whether it will lead to broader acceptance of transgender people.
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Hudson, musician Lucas Silveira, LGBT health researcher Alex Abramovich and others spoke about some of the struggles they've faced living as transgender people in a society that has often treated them with open hostility.
Hear what they had to say in the videos below.
Impact of Bill C-16