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A man doesn't need to have his penis removed to legally become a woman, according to new order from the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal

In a 95-page decision issued April 11, Sheri Price, a vicechair with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, gave the Ontario government 180 days to "revise the criteria for changing sex designation on a birth registration." Unless provincial authorities mount an appeal, Ontario will become the first Canadian jurisdiction to toss out genital surgery as a pre-requisite for a legal sex change.

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Mercedes Allen, a writer on trans issues based in the Calgary area, said the decision is bound to spark some division within the trans community, particularly among those who have already undergone reassignment surgery.

"They have trouble sometimes understanding how a person could transition and not require [surgery]," she said. There is a sense of "why would you even want to be in that situation?" she added.