City removes bus shelter ads about transgender people in public washrooms

The City of Hamilton is rushing to remove three Christian Heritage Party (CHP) ads from local bus shelters that urge restrictions on which public washrooms people who aretransgendercan use ads that have local activists fearing the city's pledge to be more transgender-friendlyis merely lip service.

The city will be removing the ads and we are sorry for the offensive nature of them.- Jasmine Graham, communications officer

The ads, which appear to show a manentering a door marked "Ladies Showers," include the phrase "Where is the justice?"

The CHP also distributed 3,500 flyers to Hamilton Mountain homes. The flyers encourage residents to contact citycouncillorstoespeciallykeeptransgenderwomen out of women's washrooms.

When informed of the ads on Wednesday, the city called them offensive and apologized.

"The city will be removing the ads and we are sorry for the offensive nature of them," spokesperson Jasmine Graham said in an email. "We strive to be a welcoming community and are committed to equity and inclusion."

A third-party contractor, Outfront Media, handles HSR advertising, Graham said, and "should ask the city about any questionable advertising content so the city's senior management team can review and either approve or reject the adWe are currently investigating to see where the breakdown was."

Coun. Aidan Johnson will also introduce a motion to that effect at a city council meeting Friday.

What that poster does is pick on a very specific fear.- Will Rowe, transgenderrightsactivist

It'sbad timing for the city, which settled an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal complaintin Aprilon thisissue. The settlement came after a security guard told atransgenderwoman she couldn't use the women's restroom at theMacNabbus terminal.

The tribunal ruled the city must rewrite its policies to align with Ontario's Human Rights Code. The city must also train employees on it, and post signs confirming its commitment to safe and accessible washroom and change room spaces for all.

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The city has hired a consultant to help do that, Graham said. It's also holding focus groups to understand the needs of the community, and has started posting signs.

The city touted the settlement when itflew the transgenderpride flagfor the first time in June.

'It's pushing that hysteria button'

So Will Rowe, a localtransgenderrightsactivist, is disappointed the ads were ever there to begin with.

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"Any of their advertising needs to meet the standard of the Ontario Human Rights Code," he said.

It's pushing that hysteria button.- Art Hedden, Mountain resident

The city just released a new strategic plan that specifically mentions Hamilton being safe and inclusive for everyone, he said. The ads go against that.

"What that poster does is pick on a very specific fear," he said.

It also playson a variety of old stereotypes, he said about men, about women, about sexual assault, about people who aretransgender.

ArtHedden, an east Mountain father of atransgenderdaughter, agrees. He got one of the flyers and wasn't sure at first if it was targeting his family. He said they're inappropriate for city bus shelters.

"It's pushing that hysteria button," he said.

'Women are generally very modest'

Hamilton Mountain CHP candidate Jim Enos placed the ads and distributed the flyers.HeemailedMayor Fred Eisenberger about their removalon Wednesday evening. Public policy, he said, should be open to public scrutiny.

We think it's important to all females in Hamilton whether they belong to the party or not.- Jim Enos, Christian Heritage Party candidate

Enosbelieves the city never should have settled, and thatproviding single-stall gender neutral washrooms should be enough to satisfy the Ontario Human Rights Code.

"To go any farther is putting the other person's rights and needs over someone else's," he said.

His campaign focuseson women's washrooms, calling the issue one ofprotecting women in Hamilton."We think it's important to all females in Hamilton whether they belong to the party or not," he told CBC Hamilton.

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As for why it doesn't focus on men, "I don't think there are too many men that would complain about women coming into their facilities," he said. "I wouldn't want to see it be a hardship on womenWomen are generally very modest."

Grahamsaid the cityprovides single-stall washrooms and change rooms for people who want extra privacy. But that "will not be imposed upon an individual because of an individual'stransgenderidentity."

Issue has become a political football

Which restroom transgender people use has become a hot button issue in recent years.

Last year, the Canadian senate gutted a transgender rights bill over "the bathroom issue." The federal Liberals also introduced a new transgender rights bill in May.

In the U.S., the Obama administration says public schools must allow transgender students to use the washroom of their choice. That's gotten resistance from theRepublican party, and North Carolina recently enacted House Bill 2. The wide-rangingbill mandatestransgender people to use public toilets corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate.

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC