QUEBEC CITY – No longer just “male” or “female”, but also “X”: in a surprise decision, the Quebec government has approved the use of gender indicators that reflect the identity of trans and non-binary people on provincial driving licenses and health cards.
François Legault’s government had previously said it did not want to make any decisions regarding the “X” marking until the Gender Identity Committee presented its final report in winter 2025. Then, the turning point, announced by Quebec Family Minister, Suzanne Roy. “In light of the consensus reached … the Government of Quebec agrees that the ‘X’ marking may now be added to health cards and driver’s licenses” Roy wrote in a statement. “The ‘X’ mark can be used by those who request it, according to the same rules that already apply to other civil status [documents].”
As of 2022, trans and non-binary people in Quebec could legally obtain the letter “X” instead of “M” or “F” on documents such as birth or marriage certificates, but not on health cards or driver’s licenses. In an interview with Radio-Canada, Diane Lavallée, head of the Gender Identity Committee, confirmed that a consensus was quickly reached on the “X” issue after several meetings with interested organizations and said she had informed the government, in recent weeks, that the position of the Commission itself would remain the same, regardless of whether the government expected the final report in 2025 or not. “Not moving forward would call into question respect for the rights of non-binary people and would not comply with the law passed in June 2022” she said. “If our work, our comments, allowed for faster decision-making, we would be happy for the people affected.”
Until now, Quebec was the only Canadian province not to allow the “X” on driver’s licenses. As for the health card, Quebec and Alberta were the only two provinces not to authorize the card. Ontario, however, has simply not included gender in health cards since 2016.
Quebec’s decision to allow the use of the “X” in driving licenses was, in fact, preceded by the reaching of an out-of-court settlement that allowed a Quebec citizen, Arwyn Jordan, to Regimbal. to have the “X” mark on his driving license. The young man, a 23-year-old non-binary, received his license in the mail last Wednesday. Like him, a dozen people requested an “X” mark from Quebec’s automobile insurance agency (la Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec – SAAQ). As part of this tug-of-war with “non-binaries”, the SAAQ had claimed that it did not have the provincial authorization nor the computer systems necessary to add an “X” to the cards to replace the letters “M” or “F” and asked to wait until the Quebec Gender Identity Commission presented its report at the end of the year. Regimbal, however, had taken legal action against the SAAQ to force it to put the correct gender marker on the driving licence. Then, the “X” was placed on his license “in accordance with an out-of-court settlement” SAAQ spokesperson Gino Desrosiers told Radio-Canada.