Nearly two years after Quebec passed a law that many in the transgender community saw as a step forward in legal recognition, advocates allege the province is dragging its heels in enacting the change.

Bill 35, passed in December 2013, amends part of Quebec's civil code, removing the requirement that individuals have gender reassignment surgery before changing their gender on official provincial identification.

However, despite the change in legislation, the new regulations haven't been implemented.

Caroline Trottier-Gascon of the University of Montreal's Groupe d'action trans says the province isn't living up to the promise it made to the trans community.

"At the moment, what the framework does is [force] people to either undergo major surgeries that they may not want or may want on a different level," she told CBC's Daybreak on Tuesday.

"So it would remove that barrier and allow people to avoid the marginalization that is a consequence of having the wrong gender and the wrong name on their ID."

Transgender rights activists say they will protest every week until a law comes into effect allowing trans people to change their legal gender on Quebec documents without sexual reassignment surgery. A transgender Montrealer shares her personal story. 9:52

Trottier-Gascon has helped organize weekly protests at the office of Quebec's justice minister, demanding the amendments be implemented.

"It wouldn't remove all the barriers," she said.

Every single day that passes when this bill is not put into application are days when people are facing obstacles - Emily, transgendered Quebecer

"There's still a problem with citizenship, with children and trans minors. Those are things we'd like to work on, but at the moment, we are stuck with these issues that should have already been solved."

One trans woman, who CBC identified as Emily because she feared the potential professional repercussions of being publicly identified as transgendered, said bureaucracy can be daunting for those whose gender doesn't match that on their official identification.

"I have the privilege of being a passing trans woman, which means in my day to day life, when I go ahead and meet people, people don't know that I'm trans," she said.

"I just started a new job and I do not know if, while filing the paper, I'm going to have to get out an ID that's going to have my gender marker on it. That could possibly out me and expose me to transphobia."

She said she had already experienced both direct and inadvertent discrimination before she legally changed her name.

Policy changes approved

Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée declined Daybreak's request for an interview, but her office emailed a statement to CBC.

The statement says the section of the law that deals with gender change was under review, but a full report was presented to the National Assembly near the end of the session.

"Our government is determined to honor its commitments to respect trans people by facilitating their dealings with the Directeur de l'état civil," the statement reads.

"We hope to reach this important next step soon. After the hearings, significant policy changes were proposed and received unanimous support from the members of the commission. The challenge now is to rework the legislation."

Emily said any further delay is unacceptable for those who face challenges on a daily basis because of identification that doesn't match their gender.

"Every single day that passes when this bill is not put into application are days when people are facing obstacles," she said.

"Real people in their everyday lives are losing jobs, losing education, losing a bunch of things just as a result of, 'Oh yeah, don't worry. We'll do it soon.'"