Transgender teen led Cadets to adopt policy in-line with Armed Forces

Canada’s first known transgender judge was a cadet when he was young. A transgender contestant on The Amazing Race Canada transitioned while he was in cadets. And now Cadets Canada has an official policy to support transgender teens.

When Levi Nahirney told The Vancouver Sun in 2015 that he had signed up for cadets, the news set off a flurry of emails between cadet leaders about how to respond, according to internal documents obtained through an Access to Information request.

Were there any existing policies? Was any training available for officers? And how should public-information officers respond to any questions from reporters?

“I would not like to leave the impression that we are fully equipped to support a transgender youth through their emotional and psychological needs ... I’m not certain that we are,” Capt. Beverley Ennis wrote.

Levi’s story was one of a handful that pushed Cadets Canada to come up with the new policy, according to Maj. Doug Keirstead, a spokesman for the Canadian Armed Forces.

“The cadet organization is fully committed to preventing discrimination and harassment based on gender identity through education and awareness, ensuring that transgender cadets enjoy the same right as any other person to participate in the cadet program,” Keirstead said.

Before the 2016 guidelines were developed, Cadets Canada had been taking an off-the-cuff approach. The trove of internal emails, which date to 2013, show the same pattern of confusion repeating each time a new transmember joined.

The biggest points of contention: where the cadets should sleep, shower and use the toilet.

The new policy, on the other hand, erases any uncertainty about bathroom use, saying all cadets should use the facilities “that best correspond to their gender identity.” Sleeping arrangements should be decided case-by-case, to ensure transgender cadets “are not discriminated against.”

The policy puts the cadets inline with the Armed Forces, which sponsors the organization. The Forces’ current policy on transgender members dates to 2012.

Drew Dennis and Kai Scott, founders of Vancouver’s TransFocus Consulting, said that the cadets deserve kudos for developing a policy.