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Canada to offer gender 'X' option on passports
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Canada will be launching a third gender designation, "X", for all official documents on Aug. 31. (Shutterstock/File)
Canada will be offering a third gender option, "X", on its passports and immigration documents starting Aug. 31.
The new "X" gender option "will make it easier for people who do not identify as female ('F') or male ('M') to acquire passports and other government-issued documents that better reflect their gender identity," according to a press release on the Canadian government's official website.
The new rule was part of its commitment to "protect Canadians in their right to the freedom of gender expression".
Read also: What your passport color really means
Ottawa was the first province to hint at the change in gender designation, said the statement. Interim measures would be put in place until the new designation is ready to be printed.
Earlier in June, the Canadian "parliament passed a landmark bill enshrining gender identity and expression in the country's human rights act," reported Time. The first ungendered official document, a health card, was issued the following month in British Columbia. (ken/kes)
