Saskatoon bridal shop refuses to let transgender woman try on dresses

Transgender woman Rohit Singh was at a Saskatoon bridal shop, Jenny's Bridal Boutique, when the owner refused to let her try on gowns, insisting it made other customers uncomfortable, CBC reports.

"She said, sorry we don't allow men to wear dresses here," Singh says of the store owner. "I said I'm not a man, I'm transgender."

Singh, who says she has started the process of a sex change, was planning her wedding which took place this past Monday.

"To me it doesn't matter," the unidentified owner says. "He looked like a man. There was quite a few brides in the store. If you see a man trying on dresses, you're going to feel uncomfortable."

Singh plans to file a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

She later found a bridal gown at another local bridal shop where she describes the service as excellent.

In March, Canada’s House of Commons passed a bill making it a hate crime to discriminate against transgender people. The bill now needs to be passed through the Senate for a second reading.

"Transgender and transsexual citizens are among the most marginalized and are too often victims of harassment and acts of violence," said New Democrat Randall Garrison at the time.

Incidents of transgender discrimination nationally and internationally have readily been making news.

Earlier this month, a transgender Nova Scotia teen girl faced suspension at her rural high school in Milford Station for using the girls' bathroom.

And last November, a transgender teen boy from in Clarington, Ont. was told he couldn't use the boys' bathroom despite having half of the students at his high school sign a petition in favour of it.

Despite these stories, there have also been incidents showing greater acceptance of transgender people.

This week, it was reported that a seven-year-old transgender Nova Scotia boy would be allowed to join a boy's soccer team for West Hants United Soccer Association. The boy's application was initially rejected, but after his mother filed a petition garnering community support, the soccer association reversed their decision.

And last July, an Ontario transgender teen girl was named prom queen at her high school in small town Trenton.

What are your thoughts on how transgender people are treated in Canada and abroad? Are incidents of discrimination become more or less common?