Creating Inclusive Environments for Trans Participants in Canadian Sport

"In 2016, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport published its guidance for sport organizations on Creating Inclusive Environments for Trans Participants in Canadian Sport. Developed by the Trans Inclusion Sport Expert Working Group, the comprehensive resource is designed to assist individuals and organizations to better understand experiences of trans people, what practices should be adopted to respect the rights of trans participants in their sport, and what the key policy considerations and recommendations are to make their sport more inclusive to gender diverse individuals. And although the CCES guidance highlighted some 'good policies' 1 that sport organizations could look to, few were specific to Canadian single sport organizations.

The CCES resource has been well received within the Canadian sport community but Canadian sport leaders have asked for further guidance on what an inclusive policy document should contain, including best practices. In addition to a desire to create an inclusive environment in sport, sport organizations must be alive to the fact that Bill C-16 is now in effect - a national bill that added gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act2, which extends to sport."