Trans Affirming Resources in Montréal

Excerpted from the zine Trans 202: Trans-Affirming Resources in Montréal and Basic Terminology by Raphaële

Changing your name or mention of gender in Québec

Quebec allows canadian citizens to change their name or mention of gender to reflect their gender identity. You have to have an address in Québec for 12 months and someone who has known you for at least a year needs to swear under oath to attest to the validity of your request. There are fees of 137$ for the change, and $32 for a new birth certificate.

Accessing hormones in Québec

Trans people in Québec can only rely on a small (but growing) number of doctors for competent care. Some doctors will prescribe hormones on an informed consent basis: they make sure you understand the risks and benefits and will let you decide for yourself. Others will ask for a letter from a therapist. People often have recourse to online pharmacies or buy hormones from other trans people because they don’t have access to medical care or because they can’t afford therapy, or sometimes waitlists are just too long.

Accessing gender-affirming surgery in Québec

There’s a single provider for Gender Confirmation Surgery in Québec. While most people report good experiences, not everyone likes the clinic and lots of people choose to spend money and energy to have surgery elsewhere.

If you want to have your surgery covered by the provincial healthcare system, you need to have two letters from two different therapists and a certificate of good health from a doctor. These requirements mean that people have to spend a few hundred dollars and wait a number of months in addition to the clinic’s own waitlist.