This petition is targeted at preventing convicted sex offenders from using Canadian Provincial Health Care for gender affirming treatments and to prevent predators posing as trans women from sharing women’s spaces.  
  Currently, gender affirming treatments are fully or partially covered by provincial health care services in Canada. This is still true for incarcerated individuals.  Including but not limited to hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgery. 
  In recent years I have witnessed increase in hate towards transgender women in female spaces. Be it a woman’s washroom/change room or women’s prison. Women are concerned for their safety, rightfully so. With new laws allowing for anyone who identifies as female to share our spaces. Spaces in which we are vulnerable.  
  There are currently biological men who have been convicted of serious and multiple sexual offenses who are undergoing gender affirming treatments in order to transition to living as a female. An example is Francois “Cassandra” Gagnon who was convicted of multiple violent sexual assaults and has been designated a Dangerous Offender. While the media reports there are slim chances of this individual ever rejoining the community, Gagnon is currently undergoing gender affirming treatment and is petitioning to be placed in a woman’s institution. This would create imminent risk to the safety of females housed with him. He would have access to victimize even more women than he already has.  
  We do not think this is exclusive to incarcerated individuals. We would also like to prevent sex offenders from reaching women’s spaces in the community as well. This is also in hopes that it may provide a peace of mind knowing that any trans women (who may still be early in transition and presenting as male) who are present in woman’s spaces, are genuinely trans women and not sex offenders who are potentially trying to seek out new victims.   
  We believe that a method of prevention would be not to permit individuals convicted of a sexual offense to change their name or gender from what is on their original birth certificate and government issued photo identification.  
  The logic being that signing up for a gym membership requires you to provide ID. The change rooms you use must correspond to your identification. If suspicious behavior is reported in public rest rooms, it can be quickly confirmed if an individual should be permitted in that space or not.  
  For reference, the process to change your name and gender legally is about $160 in Ontario and takes roughly 6-8 weeks. Therefore, it will not affect any individual who is NOT convicted of a sexual offense (providing a criminal background check for this process is standard) and they can still have their documents amended as they so choose.  
 
 
  We are asking the Government of Canada to Legislate the following: 

-Any individual convicted of a sexual offense may not be permitted to undergo gender affirming treatment covered by provincial health care.  

-Any individual convicted of a sexual offense may not be permitted to change their name or gender from what appears on their original birth certificate and government issued photo ID.  

-Any individuals convicted of a sexual offense, who are currently undergoing gender affirming treatment, Male-to-Female, and are incarcerated in Canada may not be permitted transfer to a Female designated institution. 
 
Please be completely aware, this petition is not to encourage hate against those who have chosen to undergo transition. It has been our observation that the greatest concern for trans women sharing women’s spaces, is women’s safety from sexual predators. That these new laws intended for inclusivity will be taken advantage of by predators. As a woman, myself, this concern is very real. Our hopes are to promote further inclusivity by eliminating the threat, while still keeping both women and trans women safe.