Treasury Board of Canada

• The modernization of the Official Languages Act in June 2023 marked the beginning of a new chapter not only in the history of official languages, but also in the history of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
• Full implementation of the Act is necessary to ensure that the intended changes can be realized within the new federal language policy framework.
• I'm counting on all federal institutions to step up their efforts to meet their language obligations, including the new ones in the modernized Official Languages Act."
• In 2023–2024, the Commissioner of Official Languages received a total of 847 admissible complaints under the Official Languages Act.

• Their diverse wealth of knowledge and expertise will be invaluable as our organization continues to advance its strategy in our 20th year as an independent safety regulator," said Technical Safety BC Board Chair, George Abbott.
• Technical Safety BC would like to thank outgoing directors David Guscott, Nancy Olewiler, and Gail Stephens for their contribution to safety and effective governance.
• Technical Safety BC is governed by a board of 12 directors that provides oversight and ensures safety, transparency, and collaboration in their practices.
• To find out more about Technical Safety BC's Board of Directors, visit: https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/about/board-directors .

• Boosting Government Procurement for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses by announcing the government's intention to propose legislated procurement targets for small- and medium-sized businesses and innovative firms.
• Through Budget 2024, we are going even further to invest in Canadian start-ups and be there for small- and medium-sized businesses.
• Budget 2024 demonstrates our commitment to small businesses through the new Canada Carbon Rebate, the lifetime capital exemption increase, investing in Canadian start-ups, and boosting government procurement for small- and medium-sized businesses."
• This Budget invests to make it easier for new businesses, including young entrepreneurs, to launch —and for existing businesses to grow by providing the tools businesses need to scale-up."

• Recent education policy changes and protests about sex education reveal increasing concern and polarization over how sex and gender identity are taught in public schools in Canada.
• They also expose the significant role now played by school boards in constructing the meaning of gender identity and gender expression.
• Changes in how words and terms are used can impact our ability to know about people’s lives and protect their rights.
• Significant shifts are taking place around how we define and understand sex and gender in education and public policy in Canada.

Sex, gender and law

• Yet sex, gender identity and gender expression are not defined in human rights legislation in Canada.
• They should be able to express their concerns and participate in open discussions about the meaning of words we share.

Changes in the definition of sex

• The Charter of the United Nations prohibits sex discrimination.
• The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights precludes discrimination based on sex.

Changes since 2018

Since 2018, the word sex is increasingly defined by the federal government as something that is “assigned at birth.” But there is no consistency across federal departments and agencies. Some continue to define sex as a biological question of male or female. Those that define sex as assigned at birth do not consistently explain how sex is assigned or by whom.

Conceptual shifts around word ‘woman’

• Similar conceptual shifts are taking place around the word woman.
• The word woman was formerly linked to sex and used to refer to female people.
• Now, government departments including the Department of Justice increasingly use the word woman to refer to all people who identify as women.

Defining gender identity

• When gender identity was added to federal human rights legislation, the Department of Justice defined gender identity as:
  “each person’s internal and individual experience of gender.
• A person’s gender identity may or may not align with the gender typically associated with their sex.”
  “A person’s internal and deeply felt sense of being a man or woman, both or neither.
• A person’s gender identity may or may not align with the gender typically associated with their sex.”

School boards define terms differently

• Researchers have identified that secular boards across Ontario define gender identity and gender expression differently from one another.
• Some school boards now define gender identity as something everyone has.

Data collection shifts away from sex towards gender

• A shift away from sex and towards gender (identity) has occurred in data collection practices at the federal government level.
• In 2018, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Justice Canada recommended “ways to modernize how the Government of Canada handles information on sex and gender.” They recommended that “departments and agencies should collect or display gender information by default, unless sex information is specifically needed.” They used “sex” to refer to biological characteristics, and “gender” to refer to a social and personal identity.

Open discussions are overdue

As Canadian society shifts to accommodate the legal recognition of gender diversity, there will be tensions. Ultimately, courts will be tasked with deciding how some of those tensions are resolved, when sex, gender identity and gender expression are all protected in human rights laws. In the meantime, as a society, we need to openly and transparently grapple with some increasingly important questions:
First, how will foundational concepts such as sex, gender identity and gender expression be defined and given effect in education, law, public policy and beyond?
Second, how will tensions between experiences, interests and rights associated with sex and those associated with gender identity and/or gender expression be resolved?
Third, who is best placed to decide how these questions are answered in education, law, public policy and beyond?
Everyone who may be impacted by the answers to these questions should be included in the conversation.
Debra M Haak receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Bar Association Law for the Future Fund, and the Queen's University Faculty Association Fund for Scholarly Research.