Shifting PoliciesWhile the delisting was a deep setback for the transgender community in Ontario, there were still positive forces in play. Cisgender institutions like the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Ontario Public Health Association began discussing the ways that gender identity affects the legal and medical worlds.
In 2003, Trans PULSE was founded by the Sherbourne Health Centre in order to advocate for and explore transgender healthcare. Early on, they conducted a survey on transgender Ontarians that revealed the horrifying effects of the delisting on the transgender community in Ontario; unassisted medical transitions and self harm with some accounts claiming they performed surgeries on themselves. |