(Ottawa) The federal government tabled a tougher new bill on Monday as part of its effort to ban conversion therapy in Canada.
The legislation, if passed, would make it illegal to practice changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill that the minority Liberal government wants to see passed before the end of the year recess goes further than the old Bill C-6 by banning conversion therapy, regardless of age or consent.
It thus fills in the gaps present in the last legislative text, which died on the order paper, in the Senate, when the federal election was called and Parliament dissolved, last August.
“Bill C-4 goes further. It is now protecting all Canadians from this cruel and degrading practice, ”said Federal Justice Minister David Lametti after tabling the legislation in the Commons.
The old bill, C-6, limited the prohibition of therapy to those who did not consent to it. The new C-4 no longer takes consent into account.
“The bill would ban conversion therapy because it is dangerous for everyone,” said David Lametti. “These dangerous practices must stop. ”
Minister Lametti urged some 60 Conservative MPs who opposed a previous version of the bill to support the new version so that it can pass through Parliament “as quickly as possible”.
He called on Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who supports the conversion therapy ban, to “show leadership” and help speed up the legislative process.
Conservative spokesperson Josie Sabatino said, “Canada’s Conservatives agree that conversion therapy is bad and should be banned. No Canadian should be forced to change who they are. ”
The bill should win the support of the New Democratic Party, the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party.
David Lametti reassured critics that the bill would not ban conversations about gender expression or gender identity.
With the passage of the new bill, taking conversion therapy will become a hybrid offense; two years less a day on summary conviction, and five years on indictment.
Bringing a minor to a foreign country to subject him to such “therapy” would lead to the same penalties.
“To have a material advantage”, that is to say, to be paid to provide “conversion therapy”, would result in two years less a day for summary proceedings, and two years for indictment. The same penalties are provided for anyone who promotes or advertises this form of “therapy”.
The justice minister said that “so-called therapy can amount to torture” and that the suicide rates of those undergoing conversion therapy are particularly high. He cited a special UN report that said conversion therapy should be banned worldwide.
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien said conversion therapy was “a horrible and long-discredited act” which “could take many forms”.
Research shows that people undergoing conversion therapy have an increased risk of self-harm, suicide and low self-esteem, she said, adding that most of the participants were under 25.
She said it was the government’s duty to heed calls to action from people like Gemma Hickey, an LGBTQ activist who attempted suicide after going through conversion therapy as a teenager.
Speaking at the press conference, Gemma Hickey said it was a “pseudo-medical practice” which had put “countless vulnerable young people at risk”.
She added that conversion therapy was “homophobic and transphobic and did not belong to Canada”.
Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on LGBTQ2 issues, said about 20,000 gay men in Canada have been subjected to conversion therapy. He mentioned that the ban was filed to “protect our communities”.
But he warned opponents of the bill would work hard to prevent it from becoming law, saying the Conservatives had used “obscure tactics” in debates over a previous version of the bill and “would try to scare people away. new Canadians ”.
“They will say this bill infringes religious freedoms – it does not. They will say that this bill infringes on freedom of expression – this is not the case, ”said Minister Boissonnault. “Our bill does not criminalize a value or a belief. ”
Like the last bill, this version authorizes the courts to order the seizure of conversion therapy advertisements or to order their removal from computer systems or the internet.
The government says that active interventions aimed at conversion, and not discussions with no real intention in mind, would fall within the scope of the bill.