Jennifer MacKinnon, Primary Care Officer with the North East LHIN, Rita O’Link, of TgInnerselves Sudbury, and Dr. Jacques Abourbih, Associate Professor with Northern School of Medicine. Submitted photo.
More than 300 people turned out to the Steelworkers’ Hall in Sudbury Tuesay to hear Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Council’s (OHRC), speak on "Preventing Discrimination because of Gender Identity and Expression".
“The transgender are among the most marginalized people in our society,” said Hall.
The policy makes it clear that people who are transgender or gender non-conforming are protected from discrimination and harassment because of their gender identity and expression in employment, housing, facilities, services, contracts and membership in unions, trade or professional associations.
It details prevention of discrimination, the duty to accommodate, and details particulars such as an individual’s right to access washrooms based on their lived gender identity.
Jennifer MacKinnon, Primary Care Officer with the North East LHIN told the group, “As a LHIN, we are dedicated to finding local solutions to improve the health care for all Northerners. We want to make sure that quality health care is available when Northerners need it,” said MacKinnon.
“From what they described, there is a significant gap, specifically when it comes to meeting the primary care needs of the transgendered in Northeastern Ontario,” said MacKinnon.
“Soon after, we began working with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine to begin addressing the knowledge gap among primary providers concerning the health care needs of the transgendered. We also brought the issues raised to the North East LHIN’s Primary Care Council - made up of physicians and nurses.”
The North East LHIN looks forward to continuing to work with TG Innerselves and others experiencing difficulty navigating the system due to their gender identity and expression.
“Your gender identity or expression should never be a barrier to care. There’s a lot of work remaining to be done. We’ve only just started down the path. This policy is another step forward,” MacKinnon said.
