A baby in B.C.'s Slocan Valley has been issued what is thought to be the first-ever health card without a gender marker.
Searyl Atli Doty was born in November at a private residence. Because Searyl was not born in hospital, there was no medical genital inspection when the baby was born.
Searyl's parent Kori Doty – who is non-binary trans, meaning they do not fit the male or female binary – said they want to keep the baby's gender off official records.
When they filed a birth registration form, they left the section asking for gender blank, and submitted an affidavit explaining to the B.C. government's Vital Statistics Agency why they were not filling the section out.
The reason, Kori said, is because they want to leave the decision up to Searyl, when the child is old enough to develop their own gender identity.
"I do not gender my child," Kori said.
"I am not going to foreclose their choices based on an arbitrary assignment of gender at birth based on an inspection of their genitals."
But the Vital Statistics Agency would not issue a birth certificate without a gender. A lack of birth certificate initially meant that Searyl would not receive a personal health number, which is given to all B.C. residents enrolled with the provincial Medical Services Plan.
Personal health numbers are often assigned in hospital, but parents can also apply online through the VSA. Once the VSA has the baby's information, the data is sent on to Health Insurance BC, where the application is processed and staff determine a newborn's eligibility for MSP coverage.
Although Kori was denied a birth certificate for the baby, the family recently received a health card for Searyl. The card has a "U" in the section that indicates a person's sex, which Kori assumes means "unspecified" or "unknown."
It is thought to be the first in the world with an unspecified sex.
Kori is still working to get the eight-month-old baby a birth certificate, and has applied for a judicial review of the decision.
In the review application, Kori says that requiring a gender marker on a birth certificate is a "violation of Searyl's rights as a Canadian to life, liberty and security of the person, to freedom of expression, and to equality under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," a statement from the Gender Free ID Coalition said.
While the review focuses on Searyl's birth certificate, Kori is also part of an ongoing human rights complaint that seeks to change the requirement overall.
"I'd like to see a change in the Vital Statistics Agency. I'd like to see any adult or minor who requests a birth certificate without a gender marker be able to have one," Kori told CTV News.
Kori is one of eight trans and intersex people working with the Trans Alliance Society on an ongoing complaint against B.C.'s VSA. The case began in 2013, and the group is asking for gender to be taken off all new birth certificates. They also request that anyone who currently has a birth certificate be able to get a genderless version.
Kori said assumptions were made at their birth based on their genitals, and that changing documents later in life can be difficult and stressful.
Some agencies, like those that issue passports, now have a third option. Seven counties allow governments to produce passports with a third sex or gender category, usually marked with an "X," and earlier this year, Canada's social development minister said the government would no longer make it mandatory to provide sex or gender information for a social insurance number. The government will provide a third option for those who want to provide information but don't identify as male or female.
In the spring, Ontario followed the government's lead, letting drivers use an "X" instead of "M" or "F" on licences. The year before, the province announced that Ontario health cards would no longer display a cardholder's sex.
And some sites like Facebook have recently changed their options, offering users dozens of alternatives instead of just male or female. The site also allows users to create their own if they don't identify with the other options.
"That's an example of a system that asks for gender, but is expanding in terms of autonomy," Kori said.
Kori is hoping that the gender requirements be removed altogether for B.C. IDs, but said a third option – either a "U" for unknown/unspecified or an "X" – would be fine for now.
They explained that the issue is greater than just a letter on a piece of ID.
"The ID and the systems that issue ID, those are just one aspect this larger structure," they said. Many trans people face bullying, sexism, hate and harassment, and an updated policy from the government would be one step on a larger journey.
"Changing how we understand human diversity, that's not something that changes with one change within a bureaucracy… The collection of all of those steps will bring change."
And things have changed already, Kori said. It was not long ago that some systems in Canada required people applying to change their sex designation on identification to also change their reproductive organs. While some agencies still do, many have dropped that requirement.
Kori's story about their experience as a trans person and parenting philosophy of gender autonomy has been reported by news agencies around the world in the last week, but they pointed out that they aren't the first Canadian to speak publicly about it.
In 2011, a Toronto baby named Storm made headlines when their parents refused to divulge the baby's gender. Their parents told the child's siblings and a small handful of loved ones, but wanted to allow the baby to develop as long as they could without the constraints of gender stereotypes.
Kori hopes that sharing their family's story will generate conversations and improve the public's understanding, putting real faces on an issue that is abstract to some.
But "sometimes the paperwork takes longer to catch up," they said.
CTV News reached out to the Ministry of Health, but the director of media relations said no information was available because of the transitioning government.
Currently, B.C. residents may apply to amend their sex designation in a process that includes making a declaration that they intent to "maintain the gender identity that corresponds with the desired sex designation."
Those changing their designation must also have a statement from a doctor, psychologist or – in the case of a minor – all parents having guardianship of the minor.
Last year, the B.C. government tabled a bill to add "gender identity or expression" to the provincial Human Rights Code.
Prior to the amendment, transgender individuals were protected from discrimination under the grounds of "sex," but the bill helped make it clear that all B.C. residents are protected, then-minister of justice Suzanne Anton said at the time.
"The tribunal recognizes that 'gender identity or expression' captures some of the most marginalized individuals and groups in British Columbia," said tribunal chair Dianna Juricevic.
"It clearly communicates that discrimination on the basis of 'gender identity or expression' is prohibited and that the tribunal's remedial process is available."
