{"id":3792,"date":"2020-03-10T05:44:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T09:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=3792"},"modified":"2020-03-10T05:44:33","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T09:44:33","slug":"another-assault-on-religious-freedom-parental-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=3792","title":{"rendered":"Another Assault on Religious Freedom Parental Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Federal Liberals introduce bill aimed at cracking down on conversion therapy<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p>OTTAWA &#8212; \n\tJustice Minister David Lametti has added another bill to the \ngovernment&#8217;s agenda, tabling new amendments to the Criminal Code, to \ncrack down on the practice of conversion therapy in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe legislation \u2014 a campaign promise and evolution on the government&#8217;s \nposition last parliament \u2014 is proposing to prohibit unwanted religious \ncounselling seeking to change a person&#8217;s sexual orientation to \nheterosexual; gender identity to cisgender; or reduce non-heterosexual \nbehaviour, nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe 11-page bill proposes five new Criminal Code offences, but leaves \nthe door open to allowing adults who willingly want to pursue what has \nalso been called&nbsp; reparative therapy, to seek that assistance. But that \nremains possible only under limited circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tWhat the government is looking to make a crime:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>\n\t\tcausing a minor to undergo conversion therapy;<\/li><li>\n\t\tremoving a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad;<\/li><li>\n\t\tcausing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will;<\/li><li>\n\t\tprofiting from providing conversion therapy; and<\/li><li>\n\t\tadvertising an offer to provide conversion therapy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tBill C-8, as it&#8217;s been titled, would also allow courts to seize \nconversion therapy promotional material and order it removed from the \ninternet, though it also presents the same restrictions on matters \n&#8220;alleged to be obscene, child pornography, a voyeuristic recording, an \nintimate image, an advertisement of sexual services.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tBased on the proposed changes the government has put forward, the \nmaximum punishment would be five years in prison for some offences, and \nup to two years in prison for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe practice has been widely discredited and disparaged by several \nhealth and human rights groups, but these therapies are believed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/w5\/how-religious-organizations-use-conversion-therapy-to-try-to-make-lgbtq-people-straight-1.4791880\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">still be offered in Canada.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tLametti and Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Bardish \nChagger made an announcement about the bill on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tIn announcing the bill, backed by several LGBTQ community members and \nMPs, Lametti called the proposed legislated ban the &#8220;most progressive \nand comprehensive in the world,&#8221; and referenced how the discriminatory \npractice has led to life-long trauma for Canadians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t&#8220;Conversion therapy is premised on a lie, that being homosexual, \nlesbian, bisexual or trans is wrong and in need of fixing. Not only is \nthat false, it sends a demeaning and a degrading message that undermines\n the dignity of individuals,&#8221; Lametti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThough, the government is specifying that the new offences &#8220;would not \napply to those who provide support to persons questioning their sexual \norientation, sexual feelings or gender identity,&#8221; such as teachers or \nschool counsellors, pastoral or faith leaders, doctors or mental health \nprofessionals, and friends or family members.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tAs well, the bill clarifies that the new measures are not meant to \n&#8220;include a practice, treatment or service that relates to a person\u2019s \ngender transition; or to a person\u2019s exploration of their identity or to \nits development.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tWhen asked about these exclusions, Lametti said that a &#8220;legitimate \nconversation with an open end in helping someone to explore their \nsexuality&#8221; is not covered by this legislation, saying that &#8220;those kinds \nconversations are absolutely necessary as people move forward in life.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tAsked about why the legislation allows for adults to still willingly \npursue this activity, Lametti said that the government \u201cfelt that a \ncompetent adult could conceivably defend the right in a court to consent\n to this kind of activity and we felt that we couldn\u2019t move ahead with \nthat, in that case scenario, simply because the Charter of Rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe pair of ministers were mandated to move forward with a ban on \nconversion therapy, after Trudeau promised action on eradicating the \n&#8220;harmful and scientifically disproven practice,&#8221; during the 2019 fall \nfederal election campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tIn addition to the bill, the government will be taking additional steps\n in line with the provinces and municipalities given the span of \njurisdictions and potential enforcement requirements, such as bylaw \nchanges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tSome provinces and municipalities in Canada already have measures in \nplace, such as specifying that conversion therapy is not an insured \nhealth service, and indicating that they expect health professionals to \nensure that conversion therapy is not practiced in their jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tBefore coming out with the promised ban during the campaign, the \nLiberal&#8217;s position had been that health regulations are a provincial and\n territorial responsibility and implored the provinces to take this \ninitiative on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tCurrently, some offences like kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault\n or even fraud may apply to those conducting conversion sessions, but \nthe government has indicated that the Criminal Code as it stands could \ngo further to explicitly deter and punish those who engage in this \npractice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t<strong>LGBTQ community reaction <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tAppearing alongside Lametti and Chagger, conversion therapy survivor \nErika Muse delivered an emotional reaction to the legislation, saying \nthat she lives with the damage of conversion therapy daily. She \nquestioned whether the bill as drafted will help people in all \ncircumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t&#8220;I can&#8217;t say that this is a ban that would make me safe,&#8221; she said, encouraging parliamentarians to make changes to the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tAsked about her comments, in an interview on CTV&#8217;s Power Play, Chagger \nsaid that the conversation is just beginning, and that there&#8217;s time to \n&#8220;work on&#8221; the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tIn a statement ahead of the details of the bill being known, The Trevor\n Project \u2014 a U.S.-based suicide prevention and crisis intervention \norganization for LGBTQ youth \u2014 said it&#8217;s proud of the Canadian \ngovernment for moving to end the practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe organization is advancing an initiative aimed at ending conversion \ntherapy in the United States, while similar initiatives to stop the \npractice are underway in Germany, Mexico and Chile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t&#8220;This legislation will save countless LGBTQ young lives,&#8221; said The Trevor Project&#8217;s Troy Stevenson. Based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetrevorproject.org\/survey-2019\/?section=Introduction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a national survey the organization conducted<\/a> in 2019 in the U.S., LGBTQ youth who experienced conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t&#8220;Countries across the world are taking active steps to address the \ndevastating harms caused by conversion therapy,&#8221; said Shannon Minter, \nlegal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, in a \nstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t<strong>&#8216;No doubt&#8217; conversion therapy happens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tA now-retired Senator, Serge Joyal has already introduced a bill in \nthis Parliament, aimed at cracking down on the practice. His proposal, \nin Bill S-202 was to make it an offence to advertise conversion therapy \nservices and to obtain financial or other material benefits from \nproviding conversion therapy to anyone under the age of 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tIn a previous interview with CTVNews.ca Joyal said that he wanted to \nget the ball rolling and push the government to &#8220;stand by their \nelectoral platform commitment,&#8221; and would be happy to have his proposal \u2014\n now being spearheaded by Independent Sen. Rene Cormier \u2014 to be \nsuperseded by a government bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\t&#8220;There is no doubt that the practice is still in existence in Canada. \nIt&#8217;s not visible, it&#8217;s like a submarine. It&#8217;s below the water level. But\n everyone knows that it&#8217;s there,&#8221; Joyal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tAccording to a report published in the <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0706743720902629\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canadian Journal of Psychiatry,<\/a>\n in Canada more than 20,000 LGBTQ and two-spirit Canadians have been \nexposed to conversion therapy treatments or other efforts aimed at \nrepressing or changing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or \ngender expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tConversion therapy is opposed by several health and human rights groups\n including the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health \nOrganization, which in 2012 said that these conversion programs &#8220;lack \nmedical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and \nwell-being of affected people.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\tThe Canadian Psychological Association also opposes conversion therapy \nas it is &#8220;based on the assumption that LGBTQ identities indicate a \nmental disorder,&#8221; and &#8220;can result in negative outcomes, such as \ndistress, anxiety, depression, negative self-image, a feeling of \npersonal failure, difficulty sustaining relationships, and sexual \ndysfunction.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal Liberals introduce bill aimed at cracking down on conversion therapy OTTAWA &#8212; Justice Minister David Lametti has added another bill to the government&#8217;s agenda, tabling new amendments to the Criminal Code, to crack down on the practice of conversion &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=3792\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1956,2135],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3792"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3793,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3792\/revisions\/3793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}