Trans woman arrested over arson attack on Canada gender clinic
Police have arrested a trans woman over an arson attack on the country’s primary gender clinic.
Jayne Ellen Heideck was arrested on May 30 in British Columbia and is due to be sent back to Montreal.
Believed to be a former patient, she is to face charges over a fire that took place in early May at the Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie.
Police had originally believed it could have been a hate crime, but have now said they no longer considered that to be the case.
The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie is the only specialist clinic in Canada providing gender services for trans people and provides some of the most complex forms of gender reassignment surgery.
It also houses the only surgeon in Canada who performs gender confirmation surgery, Dr Pierre Brassard.
The clinic was put out of action for some time when the break-in and attempted arson attack took place.
Though the fire was eventually put out, the clinic sustained more than $700,000 damage due to smoke, as well as water damage to equipment caused by the sprinkler system.
The Montreal Journal suggests that Heideck had undergone treatment at the clinic previously, but was upset with staff.
All staff members and patients in the building at the time were all unharmed.
Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau recently announced a raft of new trans rights protections.
The new bill will bolster anti-discrimination protections on the grounds of gender identity, and will also protect trans people under hate speech laws.
Trudeau said: “Even today, despite all the obstacles we have overcome, the battles we have won, and the victories we have celebrated, we are still witnesses, and in some cases, victims of injustices.
“We must continue to demand true equality.
“We must carry on the legacy of those who fought for justice by being bold and ambitious in our actions, and we must work diligently to close the gap between our principles and our reality.”
