Canada Bans “Conversion Therapy” (Finally)
Following years of exhaustive advocacy and petitioning, delays and cruel setbacks, on December 7, 2021, Canada’s federal government voted to pass Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), thereby criminalizing conversion therapy across the country. Three previous federal attempts to do the same all failed to pass; all were also far less expansive, focussing mainly on protecting minors. Bill C-4, conversely, will now be the most inclusive national ban globally, banning “conversion therapy” outright, for all ages. As a milestone in Canadian LGBT history, I have no doubt that Bill C-4’s passing will go down in the history books, along with Canada’s decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969; the introduction of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 (and its subsequent 1995 inclusion of “sexual orientation” as a prohibited basis of discrimination); and the legalization of same-sex marriage (only the fourth country to do so at the time), in July 2005.
I still remember when I left my own treatment with Dr. Alfonzo, in 1995. Phrases like “conversion therapy” were not yet widely used, so I strained at the time to find the language that could explain, even to myself, what had happened with that doctor. All I knew was that I’d reached out to the medical community for help with my spiralling depression. I had trusted that this particular psychiatrist would have my best interest at heart. And then one thing led to another (medications, primal scream therapy, living isolated in his “therapy house,” rapid increase to the medications’ dosages, injections of ketamine, aversion therapy, an overdose from the by then near fatal dosages), and I emerged on the other side, six years later, shell-shocked. About two years later, when my mind cleared enough to be able to think on my own again, the only thing I knew was that this doctor’s actions were criminal. If there was such a thing as Laws of the Universe, I knew his efforts to try and “change” my sexuality through all of these extreme measures ought to have been criminalized. They were certainly inhumane. I hung on to this thought for a long time. “His actions were criminal . . .”
Now more than ever, it’s important to note that “conversion therapy” is institutionalized homophobia and transphobia, and so a federal ban is Canada’s effort at dismantling these forms of ignorance and hatred that impact all lives, everywhere, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. When I started this blog in January 2017, five months before publication of my book, The Inheritance of Shame: A Memoir, I wrote that “Gays Cross Borders,” and so I think it’s important to note that when ignorance and hatred prevail, anywhere, no one is the winner. Bill C-4’s passing is Canada’s effort at restoring the dignity and humanity, the truth, of LGBT people everywhere, across all borders.
March 2019: Canada’s government rejects a national petition for a ban on “conversion therapy.”
December 10, 2019: Quebec Senator Joyal, P.C., introduces Bill S-202, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), into the Senate.
March 9, 2020: Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy) introduced into The House of Commons.
August 2020: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogues Parliament, thereby dissolving all existing Bills, including C-8.
October 1, 2020: with the recent new Parliament, Canada’s government introduces Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy).
August 2021: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls a federal election, thereby once again dissolving all existing Bills, including C-6.
November 29, 2021: following the recent election, Canada’s government introduces Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy).
December 1, 2021: Bill C-4 fast-tracked to third and final reading in The House of Commons. All sitting Members of Parliament unanimously pass Bill C-4 the same day.
December 7, 2021: Canada’s Senate vote unanimously to pass Bill C-4.
December 8, 2021: Bill C-4 receives Royal Assent, making Bill C-4 law in Canada.