E-petition calls for Canada to allow trans people to claim asylum; but right 'already established'
CTV
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country.
The online petition asking the federal government to take action launched in January has been recently gaining traction on social media, seeing tens of thousands of Canadians, as well as celebrities, sharing the petition and calls to go sign it.
"We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to extend to transgender and nonbinary people the right to claim asylum in Canada by reason of eliminationist laws in their home countries, whatever country that may be," reads the e-petition.
Despite the e-petition asking for Canada to allow asylum claims on grounds that are already established, it's currently garnered the most signatures by far of any current petitions on the House of Commons' site, from all provinces and territories.
It was initiated by Ontario woman and trans advocate Caitlin Glasson. In an interview with CTV News Kitchener in February, she said she picked an e-petition "as a means of directly approaching the government with something I feel is urgent and important."
The e-petition points to recent laws and proposed policy changes in the United States and United Kingdom seeking to weaken protections for trans and non-binary people, in making the case for allowing asylum claims from countries that have historically been considered "safe."
An immigration lawyer with expertise in LGBTQ2S+ cases told CTVNews.ca however, that LGBTQ2S+ people already are able to qualify as refugees by citing a risk of persecution—including in relation to discriminatory laws in their home country—based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
