A Transgender British Comedienne Was Sent to a Canadian Male Jail

Avery's ordeal will be over soon, say officials. Photo via Facebook.

Avery Edison’s Canadian nightmare will be over within 24 hours, according to a hearing she attended this afternoon. The transgender British comedienne has been trending on social media for the past two days, thanks to her experience with Canadian law enforcement, who evidently don’t know how to deal with trans people.

Avery’s seemingly simple visit to Canada ended up with a welcome about as cold as an unheated hotel room in Sochi. When she got to Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson airport, Avery was detained at the airport for hours, livetweeting her experience using the airport’s free WiFi and leaving off with the definitive tweet, “Okay, my ride’s here,” before getting shuttled off to Maplehurst Detention Centre, a medium/maximum security facility for men.

After overstaying her student visa, Avery left the country willingly in mid-September. Though she has not been charged with any criminal charges, her terrifying breach of law by returning to Canada after the visa debacle landed her in the medium/maximum security facility, where she was refused the use of her preferred female pronouns.

“We absolutely knew that there was a chance that she would get turned away at the border,” says Romy Sugden, Avery’s girlfriend whom she was coming to Canada to visit. “However, we said ‘we have the money, we’ll risk it if we get to spend some time for a couple of weeks,’ we never in our wildest dreams thought that it would come this far.”

Canada Border Services Agency refused to comment on why a visa infraction landed Avery in a medium/maximum security facility. In a statement, CBSA just said, “ultimately, it is the decision of the provincial service provider that determines in which facility the individual will be detained.”

Of course, that statement is also referring to the fact that despite the tiny 'F' for female on Avery’s British passport, she was sent to a men’s facility. Public outcry, followed by an online campaign on Avery’s behalf, has seemingly put enough pressure on those responsible to have her moved to the Vanier Centre for Women, an adjacent facility to Maplehurst where Avery is now held. But if Avery did not have a 14.9K Twitter following, it’s likely her detainment would have had a different outcome.

Today, in her hearing at 1:30 PM, she was told that she would remain in custody overnight, and then be heading back to England tomorrow with no charges brought against her.  All that will remain is a horror story (hopefully some good fodder for Avery to write some “Canadian immigration are clueless dickbags” jokes) and a note in her Canadian file.

Her story, however, has brought attention to a problem seldom talked about here; what are the laws surrounding the incarceration of trans people, and why do they seem so inadequate? It’s time to catch up, Canada.

In our research, information on the issue is limited and precedents seem to be swept under the rug. In 2001, a Human Rights Tribunal ruled in favour of transgender woman Synthia Kavanagh, creating a standing policy that states post-operative trans women would be permitted to serve in a women’s facility, but pre-ops would not. When it comes down to it, decisions regarding where trans individuals are detained are being based on their genitals. But it’s also a fluid issue that, as we’ve seen with Avery, can be decided on a case-by-case basis that is confusing and inconsistent.

“[Avery] has a passport that identifies her as female,” says Gabrielle Bouchard, who is the Trans Advocacy Coordinator at Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy. “But what is being acknowledged by Great Britain is not being acknowledged by Canada.”

Avery was placed in solitary confinement upon her arrival at Maplehurst, and it is highly likely the same has been done at the women’s facility. As is the case with most trans women being placed in men’s correctional facilities, solitary confinement is used as a way of protecting the individuals to ensure that they are safe from rape and assault. And we all know what a great experience solitary confinement can be.

“The danger for her physical well-being is clear, I’m not saying that all prisoners will look to assault her, but the risks for sexual and non-sexual violence is great,” explains Gabrielle. “Which is something that trans women and trans men are living right now, never mind coming from another country. Avery is the embodiment of what is lived throughout Canada by trans people who have to face going to prison.”

In the statement from the Canada Border Services Agency they say that they are “committed to ensuring the fair treatment of all travellers and that the criteria and indicators used by our officers do not discriminate on grounds protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act.”

Well Border Services, the problem with this is that there is no explicit protection for transgendered and gender-variant people within the CHRA. MP Randall Garrison, who has been advocating on behalf of Avery, tried to pass a bill that would have added transgendered individuals to the Act, however it was voted down in its final stages. Many provinces, including Ontario, have added to their provincial Human Right Code sections that deal with gender identity, but nothing’s been done on a federal level.

According to Avery’s girlfriend Romy, she will be able to return to Canada in the near future. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if Romy decided to go visit Avery in London next time, at least until Canadian lawmakers decide to smarten up a little. @mpearson9 & @lindsrempel