The Complainant submitted a complaint to the Yukon Human Rights Commission (“the Commission”). He alleged discrimination by the Registrar of Vital Statistics (Department of Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon). The Complainant alleged that the Registrar of Vital Statistics denied his request to change his birth certificate to reflect his gender identity and expression. In response, the Registrar of Vital Statistics claimed that the Yukon Human Rights Board did not have the legal authority to hear the complaint. Specifically, the Respondent argued that because the essence of the complaint was a challenge to legislated eligibility criteria, it is a matter outside the scope of the Human Rights Act as it does not engage the protected area of services. The Commission noted that the issues being argued in this case are the same as those being argued at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in the case Canada (Human Rights Commission) v Canada (Attorney General), a case which considered whether challenging legislated eligibility criteria engages the protected ground of “services”. Both parties agreed to wait until the official SCC decision is released before further pursuing the matter.
Yukon Human Rights Commission
