ARPA Canada does thoughtful and significant work from a Christian perspective. This article gives a good overview of Bill C-16,  and presents a position that is careful and nuanced.

The bill limits the fundamental freedoms of expression, religion, and association, without improving the lives of people who struggle with gender identity.

Sadly, the House of Commons Committee reviewing the Bill chose to forego public input on the bill.

 

What may be considered illegal by a human rights tribunal goes far beyond what we would consider to be the objective mistreatment of people. According to the OHRC, illegal conduct could include:

– “Behaviour that polices and/or reinforces traditional heterosexual gender norms”;

– “Refusing to refer to a person by their self-identified name and proper [preferred] personal pronoun”;

– “Comments or conduct relating to a perception that a person is not conforming with gender-role stereotypes”; and

– “Intrusive comments, questions or insults about a person’s body, physical characteristics, gender-related medical procedures, clothing, mannerisms, or other forms of gender expression”

 

While so-called transgender rights have already been added in several (but not all) provincial human rights statutes, if Parliament votes against this bill – or even if a sizeable, vocal, and articulate group of dissenters emerges within Parliament – it would encourage the kind of thoughtful reflection and articulate opposition that is too often lacking in response to the “progressive” agenda.