Federal officials wrestling with gender neutral ID issues for more than a year

There is a complexity in the embedded links between various identity documents that does need time to sort out, given how central gender has been in the various identity cards and systems.

But clearly coming and expect the 2021 Census will include an “other” category and gender-based analysis will similarly need to be broadened:

Documents from June 2015 show officials from Citizenship and Immigration Canada were looking into what they called “identity management” issues should someone from a country that allows a third sex designation on their passports apply for Canadian immigration documents.

Internationally, there is a “growing recognition of a third sex/gender category…for those who identify as intersex, indeterminate, or unspecified,” officials from ESDC wrote as part of a presentation last year with Citizenship and Immigration Canada counterparts.

Seven countries allow a third sex designation on their passports – Australia, Bangladesh, Germany, India, Nepal, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Passport standards from the International Civil Aviation Organization, which Canada adheres to, allow governments to allow a third sex or gender category, usually marked with an ‘X,’ officials wrote in the documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada said it would respond Tuesday to questions posed to it on Monday.

At the same time, changing the use of sex designations in the registry of social insurance numbers would cause issues for agencies that rely on the information as part of their programs, like Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency that use the detail for gender-based analysis on income distribution, job data and even student loan recipients.

In May, the department told The Canadian Press the sex designation data from the registry is used primarily for gender-based analysis and not for determining eligibility for benefits. Federal and provincial agencies that use the information to validate identities raised concerns over the complete removal of sex information from the registry.

Source: Federal officials wrestling with gender neutral ID issues for more than a year – Macleans.ca