Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I tend to keep tabs on other governments' legislation and initiatives. Something that made me very happy, indeed, back in April, was hearing that the Manitoba government put forward Bill 33. It received assent last week, Mr. Speaker.
Manitoba's Bill 33 makes amendments to the Manitoba Change of Name Act and will further clarify in law that trans and nonbinary folks will not be published in the Manitoba gazette under their dead name which changing their legal name during transition. Being dead named is an extremely traumatic experience for many.
I was able to seek clarification from our wonderful NWT Assembly research staff that there are already allowances in our own NWT change of name legislation for trans folks not to be published in our gazette when changing a name; however, when a trans person goes online to find out how they can apply for a change of name, that option is not discussed in any way on the HSS website, nor is it captured in the change of name application form.
The Minister has let me know that trans and gender diverse folks seeking a name change can call the registrar of vital statistics at 18006610830 toll free to request an exemption in their application. The Minister also noted that removing the requirement for publicly posting changes of name in the gazette is something the department is considering as part of planned amendments to the Change of Name Act. As the application for a change of name form is found in associated regulations, changes to the form will require amendment as well.
Now, while this is a good start, I still have more questions around how we can make interactions with the health system more safe and inclusive for gender diverse folks, and those questions for the Minister of health, I'll have them at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Members' statements. Member from the Sahtu.
