(Quebec) Debates concerning gender identity and the inclusion of trans and non-binary people in society are gaining momentum in these first days of the parliamentary term in Quebec. To have a “peaceful view”, the government will set up a scientific committee between now and Christmas whose mission will be to guide decision-makers on these sensitive issues.
The Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, confirmed Wednesday that he would not move forward with the request from the Parti Québécois (PQ) to create a parliamentary commission on the subject. On Tuesday, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon worried that the “radical left” was imposing its ideologies in schools. The PQ leader finally took a step back on Wednesday, saying he affirmed his comments the day before, but promising to write an open letter in the newspapers to explain the substance of his thoughts.
“We will not go to a parliamentary committee on this. The reason is simple, it is that we do not want this issue, which is very sensitive, to be used for partisan purposes,” said Mr. Drainville.
“What we are thinking about is more of a scientific committee, a committee of wise people, who could take a very calm, very serene look at these questions. Very scientific, too. And come back to us with findings, particularly findings on what is being done elsewhere,” he said.
Parents question themselves
According to the minister, who on Tuesday banned Quebec schools from converting toilet blocks for boys or girls into mixed toilets, several parents are wondering how to position themselves regarding the issues of gender identity.
“I think that we are all challenged, whether we are parents, whether we are just citizens, whatever (…), these issues concern us all. It touches us in our deep values and this is precisely what we need to think about,” he said.
The minister responsible for the fight against homophobia and transphobia, Martine Biron, for her part deplored that the government is forced to manage “isolated” cases on a small-scale basis which could be resolved easily.
“What bothers me is that people who are trans and non-binary cannot work properly, live their lives without being attacked and without being the subject of an onslaught (of hatred),” said -she said.
Risks of slipping
For his part, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire (QS), Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, affirms that a “conversation is relevant on these questions” and that “experts must be at the heart” of the reflections.
By politicizing these issues, “I think that the risk is that we find ourselves in a situation like that of the United States where right-wing politicians are highlighting isolated cases to create a kind of panic as if there is would have a hidden agenda to take away people’s rights,” he said.
Liberal MP André Fortin believes that a parliamentary commission, as requested by Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, should not be the priority. “If we are to focus on a very specific mandate, there are many other subjects that would be more priority for us to debate,” he said.
During a press briefing in Quebec, the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), Éric Duhaime, for his part demanded that the government remove the notions of gender identity from the school curriculum, judging that there is no there was no broad consensus on these issues in society.
What is gender identity?
The Quebec LGBT Council explains this concept as “referring to the gender with which a person identifies, regardless of their sex indication in civil status.” The organization Kids Help Phone also explains that gender identity is “an internal sensation or feeling that we all have about being male, female, neither, both, or being anywhere else on the gender spectrum.”
