FORT FRANCES — “Deplorable” and “dangerous” are two words Douglas Judson — a director of Borderland Pride — uses to describe statements and a far-reaching executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on his first day back in office.
One of Trump’s many signed orders states that the United States will only recognize male and female sexes, and that they are not changeable.
That, Judson said, makes it very unsafe for people who are trans, non-binary and intersex.
“I think that it's safe to say that the new administration has demonstrated a robust hostility towards 2SLGBTQIA+ people and particularly towards gender diverse individuals,” he said, adding that includes “people that don't fall neatly within the gender binary.”
Judson said this issue will be acutely felt in an area with such close cross-border social ties, but exactly how isn’t clear.
“We simply don't know what that means for everyday people going about their lives here — people who have families split across the border, who work on both sides of the border, who access services and health support on both sides of the border,” he said. “What does it mean? Is it criminalizing their identity? Is it subjecting them to a grotesque violation of their privacy when they attempt to access the United States?””
Borderland Pride provides advocacy, support and programming, not only in the Rainy River District and part of Treaty 3 territory in northwestern Ontario, but also in Koochiching County, Minn. — including International Falls — which is right across the border from Fort Frances.
“As a Pride organization that serves remote communities in northwestern Ontario and northern Minnesota, we have always said that we need Pride in this region because there are no other organizations that are necessarily making that the centre of what they do,” Judson said. “Because Pride is not as visible here as it is in other places.”
“We're uniquely situated because we do our best to serve communities on both sides of the border.”
Borderland Pride itself will have to exercise vigilance when doing its work in Minnesota, he said.
“I think that while we are going to continue to do that work, and we are now reminded of the importance of that work, the reality is that community safety also has to be top of mind.
A statement issued by Borderland Pride on Wednesday also raised the concern of how Trump’s order will affect Canadians crossing the border into the U.S. on a Canadian passport that has a gender-neutral identifier.
Since 2017, Canadians can choose to enter their sex on their passports as “M” for male, “F” for female, or “X” for “another gender,” according to the Government of Canada website. The website does caution that Canadian federal authorities “can’t guarantee that other countries you visit or travel through will accept the sex or gender identifier on your passport or travel document,” and urges people to check with the appropriate embassy, high commission or consulate.
Now, with the declaration that the U.S. will officially recognize only two sexes, Borderland Pride is calling on Canadian officials “to take steps to ensure the safety of gender-diverse people who have engagements with U.S. law enforcement or border guards.”
In an email to Newswatch, a spokesperson with Global Affairs Canada said that it "is aware of President Trump’s executive order on the recognition of gender on government issued identification and is closely monitoring this development.” She also directed people to the government website section on travelling and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
The department also stated that it issues travel advice and recommendations for specific countries. As of late Wednesday afternoon, its file on the United States didn’t mention anything related to Trump’s executive order.
