Outloud St. Albert wants local politicians to explain why they voted against a bill banning conversion therapy.
“I’m just disappointed that it wasn't an obvious vote to ban something that is horrible. It should have been a slam dunk I think for everybody and every party. This is a human rights issue, and not, you know, something to be a political toy,” said Terry Soetaert, executive director of Outloud St. Albert.
On June 22, Bill C-6 passed the third reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 263-63. The bill garnered unanimous support from all the political parties, except the Conservatives. Nearly half of the Conservative’s members voted against the bill, including St. Albert-Edmonton MP Michael Cooper and Sturgeon River-Parkland MP Dane Lloyd.
The bill, which has currently passed the second reading in the Senate, would make it an offence to force a person to go to conversion therapy without their consent. It would make it illegal to cause a child to undergo conversion therapy in Canada as well as make a child get conversion therapy outside of the country.
The bill would make it illegal to promote or advertise conversion therapy and it would also make it illegal for a person to gain financially or materially from providing conversion therapy.
The bill was sponsored by Minister of Justice David Lametti back in October 2020. The bill defines conversion therapy as therapy that aims to change an individual’s sexual orientation to heterosexual, to reduce non-heterosexual attraction or behaviour, or to change a person’s gender identity to match the sex they were assigned at birth.
The practice is considered to do harm to the individual receiving it, and also to society because it promotes the idea that anything outside of heterosexuality or any gender outside of cisgender is not normal and needs to be changed.
In a policy statement, the Canadian Psychological Association said they oppose any therapy with the goal of repairing or converting an individual’s sexual orientation regardless of age.
The association said conversion therapy is not scientifically proven and can cause a number of negative outcomes, including depression, distress, and difficulty sustaining relationships.
They recommend a person seeks a therapist from an LGBTQ-affirmative or a person-focused therapist.
Soetaert said he knows two people who have had to undergo conversion therapy and they have spoken to him about what it entailed.
“Things start off kind of softly in more of a counselling as atmosphere, and then as it progresses, then it becomes more fear-based, more, you know, ‘If you continue with this evil path then bad things are going to befall you,’ and then the worst thing I have heard is shock therapy,” he said.
Soetaert said their first mandate is to keep LGBTQ kids alive.
“The statistics tell us that 46 per cent of LGBTQ kids try suicide at some point because they feel so horrible about themselves,” he said.
To add on top of that, said Soetaert, somebody telling them their sexuality is wrong and can be cured when it just isn’t possible is horrible.
“It just makes them believe in a false hope if they are looking for something to be able to change who they are, and for them to be subjected to something that makes no sense, that has no science behind it, this is not good,” he said.
Soetaert doesn’t understand why it wouldn’t be positive to vote to ban something he believes is negative and threatening.
“If you were to do this to any other part of the population, people are normally up in arms and it's a good thing that people are up in arms right now. But (I just want to) just to ask (Cooper) why he's basically singling out LGBTQ folks, that, of course, are in his riding, and not listening to, you know what we're saying,” said Soetaert.
Lloyd was unavailable for an interview in time for publication; however, during a June 21 debate, Lloyd said the bill fails to accurately define what conversion therapy is, it fails to provide clarity, and it puts LGBTQ+ Canadians, children, parents, religious leaders, and medical professionals at risk.
He said he does not support conversion therapy as it poses harm to individuals, but he believes the way the bill is worded goes far beyond the scope of the practice.
“We are asked to accept that even discouraging someone from 'non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour or non-cisgender gender expression' is a criminal act of conversion therapy,” he stated.
He also believes the penalties go too far as they, the maximum of which are two and five years in prison, are on par with assault, abandonment of a child, and infanticide.
“To treat people who hold constitutionally-protected beliefs on par with those who kill children is completely disproportionate,” he said.
Cooper did not respond to requests for an interview in time for publication. But during an April 16 debate he said conversion therapy should be banned, but, like Lloyd, he had issues with the way the legislation was drafted.
“Let me be clear that it is a fundamental requirement of the rule of law that a person should be able to know and predict whether a particular act constitutes a crime. Here we have a definition that is vague and overly broad, and therefore is at risk of contravening fundamental justice. It could be deemed contrary to Section 7 of the Charter as a result,” Cooper stated.
Meanwhile, Soetaert said he just wants everyone to accept and support the small percentage of the population that is LGBTQ.
“Just as you accept anybody else from any other, you know, race, religion, any difference,” he said.
His organization has called Cooper out on social media and they might stop by his office and see if they can talk to him and get an explanation.
“We would love to talk with Cooper if he would actually take the time, but he's not really ... he's never supported any pride stuff that we've done before, so we're not expecting him to support it now,” said Soetaert.
