Amend Canada Health Act
Petitioners ask the Canada Health Act be amended to insure transgender and non‑binary people and to cover gender-affirming care and counselling. The government responds that provinces determine insured services and coverage varies.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would make gender-affirming treatments and counselling formally covered under federal health law, reducing legal ambiguity and out-of-pocket costs.
- A federal amendment could promote more consistent access across provinces and reduce regional disparities in availability of gender-affirming care.
- It would align health policy with equality protections and recognized clinical standards for transgender care, signalling governmental support for medically necessary treatments.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Health coverage is provincially administered; a federal amendment may not ensure uniform implementation and could face jurisdictional limits.
- Expanding insured services entails fiscal and capacity trade-offs for public plans, potentially diverting resources from other priorities.
- Targeted provincial reforms, funding agreements or clinical guidelines might be more practical and quicker than amending federal legislation.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to The House of Commons of Canada, Honourable Rechie Valdez and Honourable Marjorie Michel Whereas: The Canada Health Act sets out to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers; The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically Section 15, protects LGBTQ+ rights by guaranteeing equality under the law and ensuring that individuals are not discriminated against based on gender identity; Transgender People are one of the most marginalized and suicidal demographics in our society and do not have reasonable access to health services to fully transition in their gender identity; Access to gender-affirming healthcare, such as hormone therapy, surgery, and other treatments necessary to align physical characteristics with one's gender identity, remains severely limited thus creating a significant barrier to physical, emotional, and psychological well-being for transgender and non-binary individuals; Medical affirmation encompasses a variety of medical interventions (such as hormone therapy, surgery, and many other treatments) to align physical characteristics with one's gender identity; Mental health support includes therapy and counseling to address emotional distress, anxiety, and other mental health concerns related to gender identity; Transgender and Non-Binary people introduce themselves in society with the appearance of their bodies and faces, to do so requires medical and mental intervention (such as Hormone replacement therapy, voice therapy, breast augmentation, laser and/or electrolysis hair removal, Facial Feminization Surgery, vocal surgery, body contouring, mastectomy, tracheal shave and psychological counseling) and this is their gateway to living a full life without stigma and alleviates gender dysphoria; 67% of transitioning people thought more about suicide before transitioning whereas only 3% thought about suicide after their transition. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada, The Honourable Rechie Valdez, and the Honourable Marjorie Michel to: 1) Amend the Canada Health Act to explicitly include Transgender and Non-Binary people as insured persons. 2) Amend the Canada Health Act to include Hormone replacement therapy, voice therapy, breast augmentation, laser and/or electrolysis hair removal, Facial feminization Surgery, vocal surgery, body contouring, mastectomy, tracheal shave and psychological counseling as medically necessary within the Canada Health Act.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi The Government of Canada is firmly committed to supporting access to gender-affirming, evidence-based, and high-quality health services for transgender and non-binary people, and their families. Provinces and territories are responsible for the organization, management and delivery of health services to residents in their jurisdiction. The federal government provides funding and other supports to provincial and territorial governments to improve access to health care. The Canada Health Act, Canada’s federal health care insurance legislation, establishes the criteria and conditions related to medically necessary hospital and physician services (i.e., insured health services) that the provinces and territories must fulfill to receive the full federal cash contribution under the Canada Health Transfer. All eligible residents of Canadian provinces and territories are considered insured persons under the Canada Health Act. The Act is not prescriptive in this regard, except for those who are excluded due to coverage under other federal programs (Canadian Armed Forces and inmates in federal penitentiaries), as well as visitors to Canada. It is up to the provinces and territories, in consultation with the medical profession, to make the difficult decisions in determining how to allocate health dollars and which health services are to be considered medically necessary and therefore covered by their respective health insurance plans. Public health insurance coverage for gender-affirming services varies across the country and these services are sometimes provided as an additional benefit rather than an insured service. These benefits are funded at provincial and territorial discretion, on their own terms and conditions. The federal government also acknowledges the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines called “Standards of Care” (SOC), which provide clinical guidance for health professionals to assist transgender and gender-diverse children, youth, and adults with safe and effective pathways to care. The Government is monitoring with concern the rise in both misinformation and disinformation regarding transgender and non-binary people, especially youth, as well as harassment, intimidation, and threats against health care providers. Everyone in Canada should be able to access sexual and reproductive health resources and services in accordance with their needs, no matter where they live. Information regarding access to gender-affirming care can be found here: Gender-affirming care: Overview - Canada.ca.