Our last recommendation is for the development of a national strategy for comprehensive health care for trans and gender-diverse people. Already you've heard powerful testimony on this front. The only addition we will make is that while in some of the larger cities in Canada, people can access trans-specific health care services, in Saskatchewan and especially in rural areas, there are often only a handful of doctors in the whole province who will do this work well.
What this means is that trans people are nowhere near receiving the services they need. A national strategy could draw on existing best and promising practices for many of the models you've already heard about in this committee, and then work with under-serviced areas to create regionally tailored strategies through mentorship or partner models. This would enable Canada to be a leader in trans and gender-diverse health in all regions, not just our big cities.
To close, I want to stress that community-based centres are effective strategies for improving health outcomes on all fronts. Integrated models such as these move us beyond viewing our community through a deficit framework and instead towards building the health and well-being of LGBTQ2 people of all ages, all backgrounds and all abilities.
Thank you.