Amend Canada Health Act
Petitioners ask the Canada Health Act be amended to name transgender and gender‑diverse people as insured, cover specified out‑of‑country gender‑affirming surgeries and travel. The government responds that provinces set coverage and the federal role is funding.
Why we would sign this petition
- Would explicitly recognize trans and gender‑diverse people as insured, reducing administrative barriers and promoting equitable access to medically indicated care.
- Covering specified out‑of‑country surgeries and travel could allow timely access to procedures when domestic capacity or technology is limited.
- Allowing choice of hospital, clinic or surgeon supports patient preference and access to specialized expertise not available locally.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Health‑care insurance and service delivery are provincially managed; a federal amendment may not change what provinces choose to cover or could create jurisdictional conflict.
- Covering out‑of‑country surgeries and travel could be expensive and raise questions about prioritization and budget trade‑offs within health systems.
- Ensuring consistent quality, oversight and continuity of care across jurisdictions and foreign providers may be complex and harder to regulate.
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; Wait times for affirmation care and surgeries in Canada are as long as 3-8 years perpetuating gender dysphoria and discrimination leading to extreme high risks of suicide; There are only 4-5 Surgeons in Canada who perform surgeries such as Vaginoplasty and phalloplasty in Canada; Canada's Medical technology by world standards is considered out of date for Gender affirmation surgeries; Thailand is a global leader in gender-affirming procedures, and wait times are within months; 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 gender diverse people as insured persons. 2) Amend the Canada Health Act to include out of country medical affirmation surgeries such as but not limited to: vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, orchiectomy, chest contouring, tescular and penile implants, facial feminization surgery, vocal surgery, rhinoplasty and breast augmentation as well as the cost of travel within the Canada Health Act. 3) Amend the Canada Health Act to allow transgender and gender diverse people to choose their preferred Hospital, clinic and surgeons for affirmation health care surgeries and procedures including out of country.
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.