Court to hear N.L. activist’s bid for non-binary birth certificate this fall
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A Newfoundland and Labrador court will hear the case of a transgender activist vying for a non-binary birth certificate this fall.
Gemma Hickey appeared in the province’s Supreme Court in St. John’s Friday to set a Nov. 22 date for arguments in a challenge of the Vital Statistics Act’s change-of-sex designation provision.
Hickey is taking legal action against the Newfoundland and Labrador government to have a gender other than male and female formally recognized on such documents.
“I wanted to send a message out to people that are different, who don’t fit into an either-or category,” Hickey said in a phone interview after the hearing. “It’s important that people have the space to be who they are, and express that through gender. We deserve to be recognized.”