Trans, non-binary community deplores Quebec delay in issuing gender-neutral health cards

Two years after a landmark ruling that affirmed trans and non-binary rights, Quebecers who don't identify as male or female are accusing the province of dragging its feet in getting other departments to adapt to the new rules.

When a Superior Court judge overturned parts of Quebec's civil code in 2021 that prevented a person from changing their sex on their act of birth, it was hailed as a major victory by trans and non-binary people.

But two years after the landmark ruling that forced the government to change the law, Quebecers who don't identify as male or female are accusing the province of dragging its feet in getting other departments to adapt to the new rules.

Montreal resident Alexe Frédéric Migneault can't get a Quebec health card that corresponds to their gender identity.

Migneault, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, received a new birth certificate in May 2021 that has no sex marker on it after requesting one from the Directeur de l’état civil, the body that issues documents related to official acts, such as births, deaths, marriages, and civil unions.

But after submitting an application to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) to request a new health card without a sex marker, the provincial health insurance board wrote them a letter saying that the government's computer systems "do not allow for this type of change to the health insurance card."

"I was just floored at how slowly everything was moving because we've known since January 2021, that the X sex marker was coming to the papers in Quebec. So it's been two years now," Migneault told CTV News.

The RAMQ can currently only issue health cards with an "M" or "F" sex marker. The "X" sex marker is not an option, nor is issuing a health card with so sex marker at all.