麻豆影视

Health

    • Gender-affirming care in Canada comes with barriers and delays, especially in N.S.

    Share
    HALIFAX -

    Despite progress in Canada in the field of transgender health care, for the more than 100,800 trans or non-binary Canadians, access to gender-affirming care comes with barriers and delays that vary by province.

    Fae Johnstone, a trans activist and executive director of Wisdom2Action, a queer-owned consulting group working in transgender health, says that despite an improved national understanding of gender-affirming care, transgender health access seems to have 鈥渇allen entirely off the radars of most provincial and territorial governments.鈥

    鈥淲e've got a patchwork system full of inconsistencies and a small set of phenomenal health-care providers who are going above and beyond to try to provide gender-affirming care,鈥 she said in an interview Wednesday.

    Each province and territory has its own set of regulations to access hormonal or surgical treatment for people who are transgender 鈥 those whose gender is different than the sex they were assigned at birth 鈥 or for non-binary people, whose gender cannot be defined as male or female.

    Johnstone says Yukon and British Columbia are among the best Canadian jurisdictions for access to gender-affirming care, while Ontario and Quebec are somewhere in the middle. Atlantic Canada and the Prairies, meanwhile, "tend to be further behind.鈥

    In April, Statistics Canada reported that 100,815 Canadians aged 15 and older identify as transgender or non-binary 鈥 which represents 0.33 per cent of Canadians in that age group. Nova Scotia has the highest proportion of trans and non-binary people in the country, with one in 200 people 15 and older self-identifying as trans or non-binary.

    In Nova Scotia, barriers to gender-affirming care come from family doctors who are unfamiliar with trans health care, as well as from a 鈥渂urdensome鈥 surgery-request process, Halifax Sexual Health Centre executive director Abbey Ferguson said in a recent interview.

    Gender-affirming care, which can include hormone treatments and surgery, is something any family doctor or primary-care provider can offer. However, Ferguson says the majority of Nova Scotia doctors decline to offer gender-affirming care, which she says pushes patients toward the Halifax Sexual Health Centre or prideHealth, part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

     

    As of June 13, Ferguson's clinic had 850 patients seeking gender-affirming care and another 65 on its wait list. Some of these patients, she said, seek referral for gender-affirming surgery, which includes surgery to create or remove breasts, called top surgery, or surgery to reconstruct genitals, called bottom surgery.

    To apply for these surgeries, Nova Scotians must first obtain at least three letters: one mental health assessment letter confirming that the patient has gender dysphoria and is capable of informed consent; a support letter from a clinic or family doctor confirming that the patient will be cared for post surgery; and a letter from an endocrinologist, psychiatrist or surgeon also assessing the patient's mental wellness. For bottom surgery, a patient requires an assessment letter from two of the three specialists.

    The process to get all the letters and to be referred for surgery can take years.

    鈥淚t is very tedious, and that鈥檚 where the majority of waiting comes from,鈥 Ferguson said, adding that only a handful of 鈥渙verburdened鈥 specialists in the province typically write these letters and that wait times to obtain each of the letters can take many months.

    Charlotte Landry, a 31-year-old IT technician and trans woman from Cole Harbour, is waiting for a surgery date after having waited more than eight months to see one of two endocrinologists in Nova Scotia who write letters for gender-affirming surgery.

    Landry says she considers herself lucky because she has had a primary-care provider who supported her gender-affirming treatment since 2019. This meant she was able to begin hormone treatment without much delay. A friend of hers without a family doctor waited 鈥渟everal years鈥 for the same treatment.

    Landry says she understands the purpose of the first two letters, but the third one 鈥 requiring that an endocrinologist review documents she has already reviewed with her doctor 鈥 felt unnecessary.

    鈥淭here seems to be an assumption somewhere in the medical community that trans people can鈥檛 make their decisions or give informed consent without repeated psychological assessment, which is a little unfair,鈥 she said.

    Jenn Macgillvray, a clinical lab technologist at a Halifax hospital who is non-binary, joined the wait list to receive the first required letter for gender-affirming surgery in June 2021 and will travel to Montreal for the procedure in September. Macgillivray, who uses they/them pronouns, says they have no issues with the wait time that comes with surgeries, but they say the specialist letter requirement is a problem.

    鈥淚t's so rankling that I was waiting and waiting and waiting on something that doesn鈥檛 make sense,鈥 they said in a recent interview.

    Macgillivray and their lawyer are preparing to file a human rights complaint against the province because of the specialist letter requirement, they said, noting that many provinces don't require this third step.

    Nancy MacDonald, a nurse with prideHealth who helps match trans and non-binary people with health-care providers, says she receives about 100 emails a week from patients looking for gender-affirming care in Nova Scotia.

    Some of these messages are 鈥渧ery emotional, you can tell they鈥檙e struggling so much and hurting so much and they don't know where to turn," she said in a recent interview.

    鈥淎 lot of people have said, 鈥榯his is life or death for me.'"

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2022.

    ---

    This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship. 

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

    The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.

    A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

    A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

    Canada

    • Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

    • The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.

    • A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

    • Melissa Duff-Shore, a Cambridge, Ont. woman who killed her daughter in 2020, has been ordered to a forensic hospital in St. Thomas.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    • A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • A five-seat sushi counter located inside another restaurant is the latest Vancouver eatery to receive a Michelin star.

    • What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

    Sports

    Autos

    • A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.

    • A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

    Local Spotlight

    Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

    From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

    A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

    The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

    A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

    Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

    What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

    The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

    New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

    • Chayton Point loved to dance. Just ask his mom.

    • As the provincial election campaign reaches the halfway mark, the party leaders made pitches to voters on bread-and-butter issues: housing, child care and jobs.

    • Vancouver police have deployed extra resources in anticipation of multiple protests planned for Oct. 7.

    • Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    • Toronto Public Health has confirmed two cases of listeria in the city believed to be connected to ready-to-eat deli meat products sold by Summerhill Market.

    • Three Calgary businesses have been ordered to shut down after inspectors discovered evidence of uninspected meat.

    • A pedestrian is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in southeast Calgary on Friday night.

    • Alberta Health Services (AHS) says it is taking immediate action to expedite care for patients who had referrals to community health-care providers delayed.

    • The owner of a Gatineau, Que. caf茅 says it's 'silly' that Quebec's language watchdog is telling the business to write its Instagram posts in French.

    • Gas prices in Ottawa are set to rise this weekend after a slight uptick overnight.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    • At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.

    • The owner of a Gatineau, Que. caf茅 says it's 'silly' that Quebec's language watchdog is telling the business to write its Instagram posts in French.

    • A 28-year-old female driver was seriously injured in a three-vehicle collision Friday afternoon in Saint-R茅mi, Mont茅r茅gie, reports the S没ret茅 du Qu茅bec (SQ).

    • A 79-year-old woman is dead after the vehicle she was driving crashed into an east Edmonton building late Friday afternoon.

    • A letter from Edmonton's mayor to the Alberta government detailing the city's fiscal wishlist ahead of next year's budget calls for fair treatment for the capital city, something several city councillors say isn't already happening.

    • A new docu-series that reveals what life is like for National Hockey League players on and off the ice during the playoffs is now out.

    • A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

    • The federal Fisheries Department says it is concerned about a "pattern" of violence and threats toward its enforcement officers after two tense incidents off southwestern Nova Scotia last month.

    • Friday marked the grand opening of 22 new seniors' apartments built from the ground-up on Pitt Street in Sydney Mines, N.S.

    • Brady Oliveira and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers continue to roll along. Oliveira ran for a season-high 147 yards and a touchdown to power Winnipeg past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-10 on Friday night.

    • A new report from Doctors Manitoba is calling for major changes to the way sick notes are issued in Manitoba, saying they are a waste of time for doctors and employers.

    • With winter right around the corner, thousands of feathered friends are flying south. New technology in Assiniboine Park is helping researchers around the world unlock the mysteries of this migration.

    • A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

    • A group of climate activists is challenging SaskPower's move towards natural gas, arguing it violates their Charter rights.

    • Regina kids facing mobility issues were gifted toy cars through the Go Baby Go program.

    • Police have laid charges after a car crashed into the side of a Kitchener home early Friday morning.

    • The K-W Symphony may have played their last concert but the musicians who made up the ensemble aren鈥檛 ready for their curtain call.

    • Melissa Duff-Shore, a Cambridge, Ont. woman who killed her daughter in 2020, has been ordered to a forensic hospital in St. Thomas.

    • The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation hosted a virtual election forum on education Thursday evening, giving candidates in the provincial election a chance to share their thoughts and answer questions on issues teachers find most important.

    • A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

    • Saskatoon police arrested a homeless person at the scene of an encampment underneath the University Bridge on Friday morning.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

    • Two police officers in Greater Sudbury required medical attention for injuries they received arresting a man for the second time in just two days.

    • Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

    • The Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace incident that claimed the lives of two people in Georgian Bluffs, south of Owen Sound.

    • Eleven victim impact statements were submitted into court during the proceedings.

    • Middlesex OPP have shuttered a road between Mount Brydges and Komoka today - Amiens Road is currently closed between Glendon Drive and Oriole Drive.

    • A woman whose son died last month while at a Penetanguishene, Ont. beach with another family member wants to see safety increased at the beach.

    • The Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace incident that claimed the lives of two people in Georgian Bluffs, south of Owen Sound.

    • Provincial police are investigating a collision along Highway 400 in Tay Township Friday afternoon.

    • A London, Ont. man, who pleaded guilty earlier this year in a harassment case, has been sentenced to two months in jail for criminal harassment of a Windsor, Ont. family.

    • Hike Metal has added more security since a $20,000 ship propeller was stolen, while Crime Stoppers is still looking for tips on possible suspects

    • The City of Windsor is on the right path to adding much needed housing inventory to the stock, according to city officials.

    • We haven't heard the candidates talk much about education during B.C.'s 2024 election campaign, but the teachers' union is trying to put the spotlight on that issue.

    • The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.

    • Many British Columbians were shaken awake early Friday morning when an earthquake struck in the Strait of Georgia, about 18 kilometres southwest of Tsawwassen.

    • Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week 鈥 and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.

    • A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.

    • The officer who shot and killed a forcible confinement suspect in Kamloops two years ago was justified in doing so, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

    • A person was airlifted to hospital following a serious crash in Taber, Alta., on Friday morning. Taber RCMP responded to the scene on Highway 864 around 10:30 a.m., for a crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck.

    • To enhance inclusivity at Lethbridge Polytechnic, the institution has launched a new accessibility micro-credential.

    • WestJet has changed its operations at the Lethbridge Airport, and it means there's now only a single daily flight from Lethbridge to Calgary, down from three flights a day, as offered previously.

    • Two teens, ages 14 and 19, have been charged with arson in connection with a July 14 fire in Cat Lake First Nation that destroyed $500,000 in construction materials.

    • A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.

    • A suspect who accused Thunder Bay police of being responsible for his throat injury actually hurt himself when he swallowed a large amount of drugs.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆影视. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 麻豆影视