Thank you. As the chair of Social Development mentioned, we had several presentations at the public hearing at this bill, including one from the Rainbow Coalition of Yellowknife, which is a youth organization that supports people who are transgender and queer. I want to read a portion of their presentation because it helps to flesh out the section 42(1). So I'm quoting here: "Transgender identity at its core describes a person who feels like they are a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth by our medical system and/or by their caregivers or parents. There is no requirement of wanting to change one's body, nor is there any other requirement. The only thing that makes a person one gender over another is the feeling they have inside. Some trans people want to make changes to their bodies, and some do not. For any agency to place restrictions on a person's autonomy to control their identity is an invasion of individual human rights. Trans people should have the right to have vital statistics documents that reflect their identity."

I'll just pause here at the end of that quotation to say that the Minister has already acknowledged that he will recognize X as the alternative to male or female, and so I believe it addresses that point.

To continue quoting: "We are concerned that section 42(1) remains too vague and might end up meaning that the registrar requires, for example, a letter of confirmation from a medical professional that the applicant identifies as the sex that they claim to identify as. We believe that it is important that trans people are recognized as the sole experts of their own identities, and that medical professionals are not required to provide confirmation of identity for trans people. Furthermore, we hope that there will be explicit mention of not requiring medical confirmation of gender identity as to ensure that this barrier does not disallow people from changing their sex designation. We suggest requesting that the applicant be provided with a statutory declaration to sign that states that they identify as the sex that they are requesting to be designated on their documentation."

So, Mr. Chair, what all of this means is, as the Minister said, that trans people want self-determination in their identity. They want to be able to designate their own gender without needing an intervention in the form of a statutory declaration by a medical professional, with whom they might not have any relationship and with whom, quite frankly, trans people often have very troubled relationships. So the point here is that, if a person identifies as whatever gender they identify with, this should be taken at their word.

Now, I know that the legislation does not include that level of detail. It will be included in the regulations. But what I am seeking in this forum is a repetition from the Minister that the regulations will address this point of individuals being able to practise self-determination in their identity without the intervention or support of a medical practitioner? Thank you.