Military to pay for soldiers’ sex changes

by David Pugliese

Defence Department to fund some costly ’gender reassignment’ surgery

The Department of National Defence has decided to pay in certain cases for the “gender reassignment” operations of soldiers who want to undergo sex changes.

Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire approved the policy change in July.  Previously, the Canadian Forces had refused to fund sex-change operations, which can cost from $10,000 to $20,000.

“We have made the decision that in certain cases we will fund the surgery,” Col. Scott Cameron, director of medical services at National Defence Medical Centre, said yesterday.

The issue surfaced in June after news leaked out that the military was considering paying for a sex-change operation for a soldier who works at the Tunney’s Pasture government complex.  The soldier had made a formal request for “gender reassignment” surgery.

Col. Cameron said that because of privacy issues he cannot discuss whether that particular soldier has been approved for a sex-change operation but only that there has been a change in Canadian Forces policy.  The soldier is currently the only one who has requested such surgery.  The military has declined to identify him.

Col. Cameron said the policy was changed because more is known about what has been called a “gender-identity disorder.”

“There’s more known about how effective the surgery is in returning people to a level of functioning consistent with military service,” he added.

The military had not gone public with the policy change but the news was leaked to Reform deputy defence critic Leon Benoit and Esprit de Corps magazine yesterday.

Mr. Benoit said with all the financial problems being faced by soldiers and their families it is astonishing that the Defence Department would pay for the sex-change operation.

“This is complete insanity,” said Mr. Benoit.  “You have military families still having to go to food banks and soldiers going without basic necessities such as boots and uniforms.  I just don’t see a sex-change operation as a basic necessity.”

Mr. Benoit said he has been trying to get help, so far unsuccessfully from the Defence Department, for one family of a soldier injured in a parachute accident.

That family has asked for $500 to help cover child-care and some travel costs while the wife accompanies her injured husband for regular medical treatment, he added.

“They can pay for a sex-change operation but have trouble trying to come up with $500 for them,” Mr. Benoit said.

In other cases, wounded soldiers have had to fight military bureaucracy for everything from wheelchairs to artificial limbs.  Sex-change operations are covered by medicare in Ontario, although the procedure is not performed in the province.

In the past six years, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan has paid for 46 sex-change operations at a cost of about $120,000 a year.

But military personnel aren’t covered under provincial health plans.  Instead, the Canadian Forces administers medical services to them.

Col. Cameron said sex-change operations, however, are only done in a few civilian centres.

He also denied that the policy of paying for sex-change operations comes at the expense of other medical care for soldiers.

“We have never not paid for required therapy on the grounds of economics,” he said.  “The suggestion we’re going to pay for this therapy and not pay for some other required medical service is just not true.”

Copyright © 1998 The Ottawa Citizen