What with our election bringing depression to millions for far too long, it's easy to understand why one could begin to tune out any news from our more civilized neighbors to the north.

But stuff has indeed, been happening. In mid October the Canadian House of Commons passed bill C-16 by a vote of 248-40 at second reading. The bill adds gender identity and expression to human rights and hate crime laws. The bill's next stop is the justice committee.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen – political rivals who have found common ground on the issue of trans rights – hugged each other on the floor of the House after the vote.

Conservative leader Rona Ambrose, who supported the bill, gave her party a free vote, as the party’s ongoing leadership race splits between social conservatives and libertarians.

The legislation would, if passed, make it illegal under the Canadian Human Rights Act to deny someone a job – or otherwise discriminate against them in the workplace – on the basis of the gender they identify with or outwardly express.

It would also amend the Criminal Code so that gender identity and expression would be included in hate speech laws.

A similar bill has gone this far before, only to be gutted and die when the 2015 election was called.

C-16 must eventually find a path through the senate.

Not all was peaches and cream in the House debate:

Some Conservatives like MP Peter Kent say the bill is unnecessary, as human rights tribunals have already considered trans cases under the category of “sex.” But fellow Conservative Cathy McLeod countered that the law still has loopholes that could affect non-binary people.

Conservative MP Harold Albrecht warns the Liberals are going to “legislate ideological conformity” and “impose a cultural shift in our very understanding of human sexuality.” Albrecht says the bill would have an impact “on faith communities, on immigrant groups who, by and large, are not open with this idea of gender fluidity.”

Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall says the bill “gives unfair advantage” to trans people in hate-speech legislation, and would create “a lack of respect for different views and choices.” She says making bathrooms gender-neutral would create conflicts that business would have to resolve. “Would a pervert possibly be kicked out? Where does the onus of responsibility lie?”

NDP MP Randall Garrison, who previously introduced similar legislation to protect trans people, says the bathroom-bill issue is “the most significant red herring concerning transgender rights [that] has been shown to have no basis in fact.”

“Frankly, I believe its persistence is a sign of the very transphobia we are trying to address in this bill,” he told the House.

Justice committee discussion commenced last Thursday.

Conservative MP Ted Falk is questioning the need to protect transgender Canadians from discrimination, arguing there are larger groups in need of human rights protection.
Falk is one of the MPs on the House justice committee, which on Thursday started its study of Bill C-16, which would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.

Word salad:

I'm against discrimination as well. But there's many minority groups with a much larger representation than the trans group [of] people that don't have that [explicit] in legislation today. And why would you offer one group [explicit protection] like you're offering people on the basis of sexual orientation and expression when there's many other minority groups which maybe perhaps also could benefit?"

--Falk

Wilson-Raybould asked Falk to tell her which other group isn't recognized for protection, and took issue with the idea a group's size should determine its priority in receiving protection.

Human rights are human rights and we need to ensure, whether it's a small group of people or a large group of people, that we need to provide the necessary protection for those individuals.

--Wilson-Raybould

Falk later asked Wilson-Raybould to cite studies she had consulted regarding the need for protection for trans Canadians. She referred to one study by its partial name and the committee's chair supplied the full name of the study, which led Falk to complain the Liberal chair was helping the minister with her response.

I'm sorry, Mr. Falk, but I actually did indicate that I spoke to a study in my second reading speech. I'm answering your question and I would ask for the respect to hear a response from it.

I don't understand where this acrimony is coming from. I was answering your question. I'm sorry that I didn't remember the name of the study off the top of my head.

--Wilson-Raybauld

The Prime Minister has been drinking too much Kool-Aid with the president of the United States. For them (Canada and the United States) to come out almost simultaneously with the same agenda . . .. It’s very disheartening. It will be an assault on morality and on families.

--Conservative MP and Justice Committee co-chair Ted Falk, who noted that Justin Trudeau has already visited the United States twice since his election.