Rushing Quebec’s Bill 2 risks leaving many voices unheard

^{Photo by Cecilie Johnsen on Unsplash}

Last month, the Quebec government introduced Bill 2, which aims to comprehensively amend Quebec’s family law regime. This Bill – which contains over 300 articles – reimagines Quebec’s parentage laws, regulates surrogacy arrangements and seeks to provide adoptees and children born from sperm and egg donation with rights to information about their genetic origins. It also introduces new (and highly criticized) rules regarding trans and non-binary individuals’ rights to modify their sex designations and gender markers on their identity documents.

Yet, despite its scope and potential impacts, Bill 2 is being pushed through the legislature at an alarming rate. It appears that the minister of justice is seeking to rush the enactment of the Bill by the end of the year, mere weeks after it was tabled. This rushed approach will not allow for in-depth scrutiny of the Bill by stakeholders, nor will it give the government enough time to engage meaningfully with feedback or seek out further input as needed and propose substantive changes.

Public consultation is an integral part of any lawmaking...