I have to admit, as far as trans issues go, beauty pageants are way down my list of priorities. At a time when it's difficult to access doctors willing to treat trans people for the flu let alone assist in transition, when even something as simple as basic human rights inclusion remains uncertain, and when I still struggle to find answers to questions about which shelters are willing to take in trans men or women, Miss Universe seems an alternate reality, in many ways.

Marathon runner Jennifer McCreath has pointed out a recent regulatory change that the Harper Conservatives have made to the Aeronautics Act (i.e. passed by ministerial fiat, rather than shepherded through Parliamentary process) that potentially affects many trans (and cis) Canadians and could even ban some from air travel:

Sec 5.2(1) An air carrier shall not transport a passenger if

(a) the passenger presents a piece of photo identification and does not resemble the photograph;

(b) the passenger does not appear to be the age indicated by the date of birth on the identification he or she presents;

"It'll never pass," I often heard. "Not with a Harper government. They'd never support human rights inclusion for transsexual and transgender people."

And then it passed.

Oh, Bill C-389 -- championed by the now-retired NDP MP Bill Siksay -- had its challenges. It narrowly passed second reading in June of 2010, and again at third reading in February, 2011. Had an election call not killed the bill while awaiting discussion in the Senate, it could have reached Royal Assent... instead of having to start over.

Randall Garrison and Hedy Fry have re-introduced legislation to include gender identity and gender expression among the protected classes in the Canada Human Rights Act, as well as those in the hate crimes clause of the Criminal Code of Canada.