Inclusive Yukon Families

The Government of Yukon recognizes that current Yukon laws establishing parentage often rely on biological connections and may be based on binary assumptions of gender and sex. This outdated language does not reflect the reality of many Yukon families, particularly families with parents who are 2SLGBTQIA+, and families who may use assisted human reproduction or surrogacy.

To understand how Yukoners experience barriers, burdens and inequities in the current system, we want to:

• discover how current Yukon parentage laws exclude some Yukon parents; and
• learn how child naming options can be expanded to reflect diverse cultural backgrounds and traditional languages.

The Government of Yukon may consider amending the following legislation on this topic:

• Parentage legislation, through an update to the Vital Statistics Act and the Children’s Law Act to ensure they are inclusive and reflect all Yukon families, particularly in assisted reproduction.
• Child naming legislation, through an update the Change of Name Act to ensure that Yukoners have child naming options that are inclusive of cultural heritage and traditions.

This work is consistent with the Government of Yukon’s goal of ending discrimination against 2SLGBTQIA+ people, as outlined in the 2021 LGBTQ2S+ Action Plan, and with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action recommendations regarding parentage and naming options.