Traditionally, birth certificates have listed the person's sex with either an "m" or an "f".

And yesterday, the B.C. government maintained in a human-rights case that this practice is not discriminatory.

The province made the declaration in response to a complaint filed by eight trans and intersex people in a high-profile complaint against the vital statistics agency.

One of the complainants, Kori Doty, said in a news release that the government is, in effect, claiming the right to be wrong in its gender identification.

"The government knows that the current system of designating gender at birth for a document that follows you throughout life is predictably incorrect for many trans and intersex people," Doty stated. "The government knows exactly how much hardship and danger these systems can cause in our lives. It is thoroughly disappointing that they are choosing to ignore this, while fully aware of the risk of harm that this choice leaves on those impacted."

Doctors assign a newborn's sex after inspecting the baby's genitals.

The complainants maintain that a person's gender identity can develop years after birth and may not match their genitalia.

Moreover, they claim that misidentification can result in discrimination and mistreatment.

"Having a gender marker on my birth certificate has directly impacted my life in a negative way," said 13-year-old complainant Milan Halikowski. "It has caused my exclusion and bullying in sports, school, and in my daily life. I thought the government's job was to help keep kids safe and the current policy puts us at risk."

The complainants are represented by the law office of barbara findlay, who has represented many LGBT residents of B.C. over the course of her career.