TORONTO, ON: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that Canada Galaxy Pageants (CGP), a beauty competition based in Mississauga, Ontario, continues to face a drawn-out human rights complaint filed in 2019 by Ms. Jessica Yaniv (also known as Ms. Jessica Simpson). Despite repeated delays, missed deadlines, and inadequate filings by Ms. Simpson, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) has allowed the case to continue—imposing years of uncertainty, stress, and reputational harm on pageant activities and its organizers.
On July 8, 2025, lawyers provided by the Justice Centre wrote to the Tribunal requesting that the complaint against the pageant be dismissed.
The conflict began in 2019, when Ms. Jessica Simpson (identifying at the time as Ms. Jessica Yaniv) was asked whether she had fully transitioned to female prior to competing in a CGP beauty pageant. Ms. Simpson refused to answer and filed a complaint with the Tribunal, seeking $10,000 in damages for “injury to dignity and feelings” and a ruling against the pageant that it must allow biological males to participate alongside biological females and young girls.
CPG pageants are private events that include female competitors as young as six years old, and require participants to change together backstage.
The pageant has a policy of accommodating fully transitioned transgender women, but has expressed safety and privacy concerns about allowing individuals with intact male genitals to access these female-only spaces.
There has not been a human rights case in Canada that has dealt with whether children’s emotional, mental, and physical safety should take precedence over a transwoman’s desire to access a female changeroom.
In January 2025, the Tribunal directed both parties to file hearing materials. While the pageant complied, submitting nine witness statements, including from concerned parents, Ms. Simpson repeatedly failed to meet deadlines and produced inadequate submissions. Ms. Simpson was nevertheless granted multiple extensions, but still failed to submit a proper case summary or witness list beyond naming her own mother.
The Tribunal has not yet indicated whether it will proceed to a hearing or will finally dismiss the claim.
Constitutional lawyer Allison Pejovic stated, “This beauty pageant has already made reasonable accommodations for fully transitioned transgender females without male genitals.”
“It is imperative that biological women and girls have safe, secure, female-only places where they won’t have to worry about seeing male genitals, or about having individuals with male genitals looking at them,” Ms. Pejovic continued. “Little girls should not be exposed to male genitals. Period.”
Canada Galaxy Pageants continues to express gratitude for the legal support it has received from the Justice Centre.
The Tribunal is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether it will finally dismiss the complaint or extend further leniency to Ms. Simpson.
