House of Commons unanimously passes bill banning conversion therapy
Isabelle Docto
Dec 2 2021,
Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock
The House of Commons unanimously agreed to pass a bill that bans conversion therapy on Wednesday, December 1.
Bill C-4 will protect Canadians of all ages from the harmful practice by making it illegal in Canada.
David Lametti, Canada’s minister of justice and attorney general, took to Twitter to thank all members of parliament “for choosing the right side of history.”
The legislation plans on eliminating the practice of conversion therapy with four new Criminal Code offences. It would prohibit any person from undergoing conversion therapy, removing a minor from Canada to subject them to conversion therapy abroad, profiting from providing conversion therapy and advertising or promoting conversion therapy.
The bill is an expansion of Bill C-6, which was introduced in 2020, expanding the legislation to protect consenting adults from taking part in the harmful practice.
According to bill C-4, so-called conversion therapy is a practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or change a person’s gender identity to cisgender. It can also include forcing a person’s gender expression to conform to the sex assigned to them at birth and repressing a person’s non-heterosexual attraction and non-cisgender gender identity.You might also like:
The practice can go by many different names like “reparative therapy” and “reorientation therapy” and can take various forms, including counselling and behavioural modification.
Municipal governments have also taken steps to combat the practice. In 2018, Vancouver banned businesses that practice conversion therapy.
If the bill passes as-is, it will make conversion therapy a crime punishable by up to five years.
The legislation will now be looked over in the senate, where it could be subject to changes.
Surprise Tory motion sends the bill for anti-conversion therapy through Commons
DEC 2, 2021
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Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is asking questions to the government during the House of Commons questioning on November 25.Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press
The House of Commons has unanimously approved a proposal from the Conservative Party to speed up legislation banning conversion therapy.
The unexpected move on Wednesday, which resulted in cheers and applause among MPs, means that the legislation, which the government introduced for the third time earlier in the week, without being examined by committees, goes to the Senate for approval.
It also mitigates the prospect of a divisive debate on Bill C-4 among conservatives on how to deal with legislation surrounding the highly discredited therapy aimed at changing a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
At a third reading of the previous bill in June, 62 Conservative MPs voted against. Party leader Erin O’Toole was among 51 conservatives who voted for.
A few hours before Conservative MP Rob Moore moved the bill to pass the bill at all stages, Mr O’Toole told reporters outside a caucus meeting that the party would speed up the adoption of the new bill.
“There are many ways we can speed up the adoption of this legislation,” he said.
Mr. O’Toole, a self-proclaimed longtime ally of the LGBTQ2 community, said the caucus had had a “good discussion” on the issue, but did not elaborate.
Following the adoption of the proposal, Homosexual Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault said Wednesday’s development was a sign of progress in Canada and exemplifies what happens when Parliament works.
“I think political people in this country do not want to be preoccupied with opposing LGBTQ2 issues because they are fundamental human rights,” he said.
Justice Minister David Lametti said there were members of the Conservative caucus to be thanked.
“There are clearly people in the conservative caucus who exercised much of the leadership on the issue, and I thank them,” he said. “They have done a very important thing for the Canadians. That is what we can do when Parliament works together.”
He said he now hoped the bill could be accelerated through the Senate.
In a tweet, he said: “I would like to thank all the elected members for choosing the right side of the story.”
Gérard Deltell, the Conservative House leader, declined to reveal the dynamics of caucus discussions on the issue. He noted that no Conservative has been a supporter of conversion therapy, but there were previous concerns about the legislative options to deal with it.
He said Mr Moore had done a good job in solving the problem in the past. “He put forward a proposal to put the bill where it was six months ago before the prime minister called the unnecessary election,” he said.
“It’s in the hands of the Senate, which is exactly what could have been done six months ago.”
Mark Holland, head of the House of Commons, noted that there is “enormous power” in the Commons when members speak with one voice on a subject.
“When you take that time to work together, you can achieve results that we see today, and I think that is possible in other aspects,” he said. Netherlands.
Earlier this week, the Liberal government re-introduced a bill banning conversion therapy. The legislation was broader than an earlier version. The intention was to ban the practice exclusively for children and adults. Previously, the proposed legislation left open the possibility for an adult to give his consent to conversion therapy. The new bill closes the gap.
The bill was first tabled in March 2020, but died on the order paper when the government prorogated Parliament later that year. It was reintroduced not long after that and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the federal election.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is asking questions to the government during the House of Commons questioning on November 25.Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press
The House of Commons has unanimously approved a proposal from the Conservative Party to speed up legislation banning conversion therapy.
The unexpected move on Wednesday, which resulted in cheers and applause among MPs, means that the legislation, which the government introduced for the third time earlier in the week, without being examined by committees, goes to the Senate for approval.
It also mitigates the prospect of a divisive debate on Bill C-4 among conservatives on how to deal with legislation surrounding the highly discredited therapy aimed at changing a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
At a third reading of the previous bill in June, 62 Conservative MPs voted against. Party leader Erin O’Toole was among 51 conservatives who voted for.
A few hours before Conservative MP Rob Moore moved the bill to pass the bill at all stages, Mr O’Toole told reporters outside a caucus meeting that the party would speed up the adoption of the new bill.
“There are many ways we can speed up the adoption of this legislation,” he said.
Mr. O’Toole, a self-proclaimed longtime ally of the LGBTQ2 community, said the caucus had had a “good discussion” on the issue, but did not elaborate.
Following the adoption of the proposal, Homosexual Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault said Wednesday’s development was a sign of progress in Canada and exemplifies what happens when Parliament works.
“I think political people in this country do not want to be preoccupied with opposing LGBTQ2 issues because they are fundamental human rights,” he said.
Justice Minister David Lametti said there were members of the Conservative caucus to be thanked.
“There are clearly people in the conservative caucus who exercised much of the leadership on the issue, and I thank them,” he said. “They have done a very important thing for the Canadians. That is what we can do when Parliament works together.”
He said he now hoped the bill could be accelerated through the Senate.
In a tweet, he said: “I would like to thank all the elected members for choosing the right side of the story.”
Gérard Deltell, the Conservative House leader, declined to reveal the dynamics of caucus discussions on the issue. He noted that no Conservative has been a supporter of conversion therapy, but there were previous concerns about the legislative options to deal with it.
He said Mr Moore had done a good job in solving the problem in the past. “He put forward a proposal to put the bill where it was six months ago before the prime minister called the unnecessary election,” he said.
“It’s in the hands of the Senate, which is exactly what could have been done six months ago.”
Mark Holland, head of the House of Commons, noted that there is “enormous power” in the Commons when members speak with one voice on a subject.
“When you take that time to work together, you can achieve results that we see today, and I think that is possible in other aspects,” he said. Netherlands.
Earlier this week, the Liberal government re-introduced a bill banning conversion therapy. The legislation was broader than an earlier version. The intention was to ban the practice exclusively for children and adults. Previously, the proposed legislation left open the possibility for an adult to give his consent to conversion therapy. The new bill closes the gap.
The bill was first tabled in March 2020, but died on the order paper when the government prorogated Parliament later that year. It was reintroduced not long after that and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the federal election.
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