Transport Canada more clearly defined the regulations in the Gazette in 2010 and 2011 after the Governor in Council approval for the regulation occurred. No changes have been made to the order since it was first published in August 2010.
This is important, because since that time Transport Canada has not been aware of any case of a transgendered or transsexual individual in possession of a medical document who has not been permitted to board an airplane since the publication of the regulation in 2010.
Now, it's possible that someone might raise a case that we're not aware of, but I would be interested in hearing if there is one. Certainly we'll take a look at any case that might be out there, but at this time I am not aware of any case.
If you read the complete regulations, you'll see that in paragraph 5.2(2)(a) it does not prevent the transgendered or transsexual community from travelling by air. If for medical reasons a passenger's facial features do not correspond to the photo on his or her identification, the air carrier may authorize the passenger to board the plane if he or she provides a medical certificate relating to this.
The identity screening regulations have been in place since 2007. If one goes to....
There's a URL that I can table. It's very extensive, so it's just easier for me to do that rather than read the entire thing. It has about 100 characters in it—with slash this and dot that— so I can just table it. Members can go there if they want to read the regulations in more detail.
They have provisions for passengers who may have had their appearances altered. The identity screening regulations are very clear, though. We believe they can allow the system to operate without discriminating against people based on irrelevant characteristics and avoid discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.
That's the position of the government. We haven't had an instance of when an individual problem has manifested—or at least not reported to us. Again, we welcome any member to bring to my attention a case that I might not be aware of.
So the system does seem to be working right now. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we would like to keep the system functioning the way it is.