St. Albert-Edmonton MP Michael Cooper wants to make it clear that he is against conversion therapy.
“I'm absolutely against coercive or abusive therapies designed to change a person's sexual orientation. Such therapy, conversion therapy, is wrong. It's absurd, and it has no place in Canada,” said Cooper in a Gazette interview on Monday.
On June 22, Cooper voted against Bill C-6: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy). The bill would make it illegal to force a person to undergo therapy without their consent, or to allow a child to undergo conversion therapy in Canada as well as outside the country.
Cooper said he strongly supports the purported objective of the bill, and in fact voted for it during the April 16 second reading, but ultimately voted against the bill because the legislation is poorly drafted.
“If you're going to enact a Criminal Code offence specific to conversion therapy, then what matters is what is in the definition of conversion therapy. And unfortunately, the definition is vague and overly broad. It does not specifically target abusive and coercive practices,” said Cooper.
He believes the bill is far more expansive and could criminalize good-faith conversations between parents, family members, legitimate medical counseling, and spiritual support.
“On that basis, I couldn't support the bill,” he said.
Cooper, who sits on the Justice Committee, said the committee heard from a wide range of witnesses who had concerns about the way the bill was drafted, particularly with the expansive nature of the definition. There was an opportunity to fix the legislation, said Cooper, but changes were rejected.
“When we're talking about legislation that could potentially put someone behind bars for five years, it's pretty important to get the definition right and that the definition is clear. It’s not,” he said.
Cooper said he worked in good faith on the committee to try to fix the definition. He said if the government wanted to ban conversion therapy and had instead targeted coercive and abusive therapies, they could have passed such legislation near-unanimously.
The government is playing politics, said Cooper, and has dragged its feet when it comes to moving this bill through the legislative process.
“We're now in a situation where the bill is in the Senate and could very well die on the order paper. If an election is called later this summer (or) early in the fall, which all indications point to,” he said.
The Senate did not have time to complete the review of Bill C-6 on June 29, the final senate sitting before the summer break. If an election is called, Bill C-6 could be delayed or could very well die on the order paper.
Quebec Senator Marc Gold is hoping to prevent this from happening.
On July 2, in an open letter to the public, Gold proposed a motion to allow the Senate to further study, debate, and vote on the bill by July 26.
“Since we adjourned on Tuesday, June 29, it has become increasingly clear that an inability of the Senate to complete its study of this legislation before fall has generated a great deal of concern, anxiety, and frustration for those in our LGBTQ2 community.
“The government is hearing those concerns loudly and is committed to ensuring a timelier implementation of Bill C-6. To that end, the government wishes that I propose to the Senate’s leadership a reasonable plan to continue this important work in the coming weeks, in a fashion that does not undercut our responsibility to conduct a proper study,” Gold stated in the letter.
Gold is proposing a motion to allow the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs meet virtually to study the bill.
He is also proposing a motion to allow for hybrid Senate sittings during the week of July 26.
He would like the Senate to debate the bill at third reading during the same week, with a final vote no later than the end of that week.
“I am hopeful we can reach an understanding on a plan that ensures the Senate can complete this important work,” Gold stated.
