Ottawa urges provinces to ban
"conversion therapies"
The federal government is urging all provincial governments to ban "conversion therapy" for LGBTQs ,
while Ottawa is considering changes to the Criminal Code itself.
In a letter to the provinces and territories, dated June, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti , Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and Randy Boissonnault, the Prime Minister's special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues, asked them to do their part to prohibit conversion therapy,
"a cruel exercise that can lead to lifelong trauma".
The letter stated that the federal government was considering reforming the Criminal Code with respect to conversion therapies - which claim to be able to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals through counseling or religious instruction.
Several provinces and municipalities have already banned these "sexual reorientation" therapies. On Monday, St. Albert City Council, a suburb of Edmonton, Alberta, unanimously passed a motion banning this controversial practice for minors. Other cities in Alberta, including Calgary and Edmonton, are considering similar regulations. Such bans exist in Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Vancouver.
Kristopher Wells holds a Canada Research Chair at MacEwan University in Edmonton on the public understanding of young people from a sexual or gender minority. He believes that such municipal resolutions are a positive step. "This is part of a broader trend that we are witnessing not only in Canada, but also in North America - the movement to end conversion therapy, which many see as a form of torture and psychological abuse. He said.
Wells also believes this is particularly important in Alberta, where the Conservative government of Jason Kenney recently dissolved a task force to shape the province's strategy in this area. This government also passed a bill last week that cancels the actions of
the previous NDP government to strengthen the protection of "gay-straight alliances" in schools.
Federal officials supported in their June letter that a number of provinces had taken steps to discourage conversion therapies, but other provinces had done nothing. Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said in an email that his government "opposes conversion therapy and condemns it in all its forms". He was pleased to know that the federal government wanted to work with the provinces to reform the Criminal Code.
The Canadian Psychological Association, the World Health Organization and Amnesty International , in particular,
oppose any form of so-called "sexual reorientation" therapies.
while Ottawa is considering changes to the Criminal Code itself.
In a letter to the provinces and territories, dated June, Federal Justice Minister David Lametti , Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and Randy Boissonnault, the Prime Minister's special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues, asked them to do their part to prohibit conversion therapy,
"a cruel exercise that can lead to lifelong trauma".
The letter stated that the federal government was considering reforming the Criminal Code with respect to conversion therapies - which claim to be able to turn homosexuals into heterosexuals through counseling or religious instruction.
Several provinces and municipalities have already banned these "sexual reorientation" therapies. On Monday, St. Albert City Council, a suburb of Edmonton, Alberta, unanimously passed a motion banning this controversial practice for minors. Other cities in Alberta, including Calgary and Edmonton, are considering similar regulations. Such bans exist in Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Vancouver.
Kristopher Wells holds a Canada Research Chair at MacEwan University in Edmonton on the public understanding of young people from a sexual or gender minority. He believes that such municipal resolutions are a positive step. "This is part of a broader trend that we are witnessing not only in Canada, but also in North America - the movement to end conversion therapy, which many see as a form of torture and psychological abuse. He said.
Wells also believes this is particularly important in Alberta, where the Conservative government of Jason Kenney recently dissolved a task force to shape the province's strategy in this area. This government also passed a bill last week that cancels the actions of
the previous NDP government to strengthen the protection of "gay-straight alliances" in schools.
Federal officials supported in their June letter that a number of provinces had taken steps to discourage conversion therapies, but other provinces had done nothing. Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said in an email that his government "opposes conversion therapy and condemns it in all its forms". He was pleased to know that the federal government wanted to work with the provinces to reform the Criminal Code.
The Canadian Psychological Association, the World Health Organization and Amnesty International , in particular,
oppose any form of so-called "sexual reorientation" therapies.
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