As we mark Gender Equality Week, we, the members of the Yukon Liberal Caucus and the Yukon NDP Caucus, come together to reaffirm our commitment to advancing gender equality across the Yukon.
Despite our political differences, we are firmly committed to uniting our voices to promote gender equality and the rights of trans and queer Yukoners.
We are deeply troubled by the efforts of some Yukoners to deprive trans children of the ability to feel safe, loved, and respected at school, at home, and in their communities. All children deserve to be loved, regardless of their gender identity, and they deserve to feel valued for who they are and who they will become.
We hoped to be able to issue this document as an all-party statement, proudly proclaiming that the Yukon is a place where political parties of all stripes strongly believe in the freedom of all people to achieve their true selves and the idea that all children are deserving of love.
It is disappointing that the Yukon Party chose not to participate. We hope that they will stand up to anti-2SLGBTQIA+ policies and sentiments coming from some segments of our society. This includes the recent anti-trans resolutions passed during the federal Conservative Party’s biennial convention.
We, however, will not wait. As leaders, we will continue to advocate for the safety of trans Yukoners, especially young people.
Let’s remember that trans youth are as much as five times more likely than their cisgender peers to attempt suicide. Gender affirming care saves lives. It saves trans youth the pain and the shame to grow up in a body that does not match who they are.
Let us be clear: it is not “indoctrination” to teach children to love their neighbours. It is not “sexualization” to let young people know that there are people who identify at various points across the gender spectrum. It is not “social contagion” to acknowledge that all people are valuable members of our society and deserving of love. It is not “medicalization” to provide health care to people who are experiencing pain and discomfort in their body because it does not match how they feel they truly are inside.
The Yukon is a place where everyone should feel safe, supported and welcomed. That is why we will never stop fighting for a diverse, inclusive and resilient territory.
– Yukon Liberal Caucus
– Yukon NDP Caucus
