Surgery OptionsDespite existing in a legal grey area, transition related surgeries were still being performed. Canada’s first vaginoplasty, the creation of a vagina using the skin of a penis, was performed in Toronto in 1970. This surgery was performed through the recently created Gender Identity Clinic at the Clarke Institute. This procedure, as well as future transition related surgeries, was covered by OHIP, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
The Clarke Institute of Psychiatry opened their Gender Identity Clinic in 1969. The Clarke became the de facto gender identity clinic for the Province of Ontario in the following years. For decades, the only way to get provincial funding through OHIP for transition related surgeries was through the Clarke. |
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One From The Vaults: Behold! I Am A Woman! Courtesy of Morgan M. Page.
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Dianna: Canada's first sex change patient. Courtesy of CBC Archives.
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