http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/07/30/irish-trans-woman-applies-fo etc ...

Good luck to her, but I doubt there are grounds for refugee asylum in Canada, I think this is more her lawyers angle then hers.. The laws don't discriminate against her in Northern Ireland. I don't know if you can claim asylum on the grounds that a society does not like you, otherwise Kerry fans would get asylum anywhere.

Load of crap! She should have been denied on application and sent home immediately.

I really hope Canada don't even consider her case for a second.

There is no (or very very little) recent "well documented cases of homophobic attacks" in Ireland / Northern Ireland.

Pulling a fast one probably down to liking the Canadian life.

What exactly does trans-woman mean? I'm constantly confused by this. Various people on Gaire who describe themselves as such tell me that once you decide you're trans then that's it *poof* you are a m:f, or f:m mid transition person.

I'd be interested to know what stage this asylum seeker is and what evidence they have of facing discrimination.

OTTAWA – He came to Canada from Great Britain in 2006 as Tim Bloomfield, got married in Nova Scotia and then split from his wife in 2009.

Now, as Tanya Bloomfield, a transgendered woman, this British citizen is seeking refugee status in Canada.

Bloomfield’s spousal sponsorship application for landed immigrant status in Canada became invalid when the marriage broke down. Applications for both temporary residence and temporary work permits have been turned down.

“I didn’t meet the criteria,” Bloomfield told CTV when asked why the applications were rejected.

After refusing to sign a voluntary departure order, Bloomfield’s lawyer, Lee Cohen, says his client will seek refugee status.

"There are statistics which show there's increasing hate crime within the European Union," Bloomfield told CTV.

Britain, unlike Canada, actually has laws banning discrimination against transgendered people, those who were born with one sex but live as the other.

In 2008, the British government extended equality laws to cover transgendered people. There is even a registry for transgendered people to have their new gender legally recognized.

In Canada, no such registry exists and neither equality nor human rights legislation recognizes transgendered people.

In June, however, Bill C-389 was passed through second reading in the Commons with all-party support. That bill would prohibit discrimination based on “gender identity and gender expression.”

A spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney declined to comment on this specific case but did acknowledge there are occasional refugee claims from Britain. Most, if not all, are rejected.

Thanks Shayy. I'll be interested to hear what persecution she has suffered in Britain.

This article contains the unedited quotation of what she said. I wonder why did Pink News insert the text "in Ireland" before "and I grew up there". No such clarification was required - unless they wanted to pretend her accusations were directed at all of the island of Ireland which clearly they're not. They're directed at that part of the island that's ruled by the UK.

"There is well-documented evidence of homophobic attacks and I grew up there and it's just not a country I want to return to given that I'm transgendered because I'd be at risk,"

Source:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Transgendered+woman+seeks+refu etc ...

Where is this well documented evidence though?

When she left Northern Ireland she was still living as a man, if she went on to get married, unless it was for the hope of citizenship.

I can't see her getting far with this and while her life might be better over there I hope she isn't granted refugee status on the grounds she is going for.

It just paints negativity of life as a LGBT person here.

NI is apparently the hate capital of Europe. I don't know. I'm just irritated how so many news organisations are assuming she's referring to the Republic.

This is an interesting case. However, I can't really see how she has a case to remain in Canada on the grounds of refugee status. Even if she were persecuted and harrassed in the North, which I think would be a real possibility, the Canadian authorities could agrue that she would be free to move to another part of the UK or indeed another EU country.

It does seem that the article paints all of Ireland in a bad light. However, many North Americans, Canadians included, would perceive Ireland to still be a very religious and conservative society hostile to LGBT people.

..... which curiously enough, is the impression we have of much rural USA.

I've just been reading this article on the CBC (Canadian) website. The author and those commenting are completely clueless that the laws this woman is subject to in her own country are those of the UK. Twits.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/07/29/ns-transgen etc ...

On the PSNI Website

in 2008/2009 there were 175 recorded homophobic incidents
in 2009/2010 there were 179 recorded homophobic incidents
in 2008/2009 there were 10 recorded transphobic incidents
in 2009/2010 there were 14 recorded transphobic incidents

http://www.psni.police.uk/3._08_09_hate_incidents_and_crimes.pdf

I think those statistics are quite low but they shouldn't be rubbished or written off as non-existent and also a lot of incidents would go unreported

Why Canada though. She could get a flight easy enough over to the UK.

Send her home.

I totally think she's chancing her arm - a lot of the stories like the one Gadjo posted are also talking about transphobia in Europe!

Id guess that they have more suitable laws there? Im unsure what the laws are in Canada but if you were looking for asylum it would be best to go somewhere that has the best equality laws and anti-discrimination laws.
Plenty of jobs going in Canada too