The Senate has wrapped up debate on Bill C-16. That’s the law that purportedly entrenches protections for transgendered people into the Criminal Code and the Canada Human Rights Act by adding the terms “gender identity” and “gender expression” to the list of grounds upon which discrimination would be banned. Supporters – including media coverage at the CTV website – claim that the bill simply means that trans-gendered people will now have the same human rights protections as everyone else. However, opponents have long argued that transgender people are already protected equally in law (on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and disability). Furthermore, many experts are worried that the change in law will infringe on free speech by specifically mandating that everyone use various gender pronouns, irrespective of how they perceive the gender issue. The final Senate vote on the bill was 67 to 11. The bill is now law.