As of Mar. 25, Saskatchewan residents can mark their sex on their driver’s license as either M, F, or X — the new third option designates that sex is unspecified.
The option is open to any resident of any age upon request, and those wishing to change their designation on their ID in lieu of this announcement can do so at no charge. The change requires no documentation and can be done at any authorized motor license issuer.
The change falls in line with the 2018 ruling that required the Government of Saskatchewan issue birth certificates without a sex designation, and SGI felt that as a government-issued ID provider, the X designation was a relevant addition.
Joe Wickenhauser, executive director of Moose Jaw Pride, is glad to see the changes and that they require no documentation.
“It's an important step in the right direction, and it certainly makes it easier for people who want to change their gender marker to ‘unspecified’ on their driver's license,” said Wickenhauser.
Wickenhauser also noted that the new option isn’t quite the same as the changes made to the Vital Statistics Act regarding birth certificates.
“On their birth certificate, people can have the whole category of gender and sex completely removed, wheras for SGI, they still have the category and are giving people the option of M, F, or X,” said Wickenhauser. “So, while I think that is an important step in the right direction, it does fall short of some of the other changes that we've seen happen with Vital Stats.”
Saskatchewan is not the first province in Canada to change its policy in this way, following Alberta, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
