Jennifer Blatherwick, parliamentary secretary for gender equity, has released the following statement in honour of Transgender Day of Visibility:

“Every year on March 31, B.C. celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility and the achievements and contributions of transgender, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people.

“This day of recognition was started in 2010 by Rachel Crandall-Crocker to shift the focus away from the violence and the devastating impacts of transphobia on trans people’s lives and to uplift the many positive stories about the trans community.

“It is important to recognize the contributions of transgender, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people. That’s why today, we recognize the more than 18,000 British Columbians who identify as transgender, gender-diverse, or Two-Spirit. They are our friends, family members, neighbours and colleagues, and today we celebrate them.

“Transgender Day of Visibility is important because everyone benefits when we can all be our most authentic selves and be seen and loved for who we really are. B.C. is a diverse province and visibility matters, because everyone has the right to see themselves represented in our communities and our society. 

“The University of Victoria hosts the world’s largest Transgender Archives, which span more than 120 years of records, including materials in 15 languages, from 23 countries and six continents. The Transgender Archives play an important role in preserving and highlighting trans history, and are a reminder that transgender, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people have always been here, and will always continue to be.

“On this Transgender Day of Visibility, I invite all British Columbians to join me in celebrating and uplifting the transgender, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people from our communities, and working hard every day to make sure that transphobia, discrimination, and hate have no place in B.C.”