NDP says it will outlaw gay ‘conversion therapy’

The NDP will introduce a bill this fall to ban so-called gay conversion therapy.

It is being developed by Edmonton-Castle Downs backbench MLA Nicole Goehring, who told Postmedia Tuesday that outlawing the controversial practice in Alberta will save lives.

“At the end of the day,” she said, “that’s what it’s all about.”

Goehring said the issue has been on her radar since it was raised during consultations on Bill 24 (which, in part, makes it illegal for a teacher to inform a parent if a child joins a gay-straight alliance at school) and brought PTSD Awareness Day to Alberta.

“I heard from members of the LGBTQ+ community, their families, advocates and leadership from faith communities that banning conversion therapy was something they wanted,” she said.

CONVERSION THERAPY ‘DISCRIMINATORY, HARMFUL AND HATEFUL’

Conversion therapy attempts to use psychological or spiritual intervention to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Kristopher Wells, an associate professor in health and community studies at MacEwan University, has for years advocated a ban on what he calls a “dangerous and deceptive” practice.

Wells told Postmedia Tuesday evening that almost every major psychological study has condemned conversion therapy, with outcomes ranging from lifelong trauma and depression to drug and alcohol abuse and suicide.

Goehring broached the topic during a December question period in the legislature, asking Health Minister Sarah Hoffman what steps the government was taking to ensure no Albertan was “subjected to this archaic and dangerous practice.”

At the time, Hoffman said the government was examining its options. Nine months later, Goehring will sit down with the health minister to finalize the language of her private member’s bill.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Hoffman called conversion therapy “discriminatory, harmful and hateful.”

“I want to hear from those in the LGBTQ2+ community and invite them to continue writing to me on this important issue,” she said.

Wells lauded Goehring ’s upcoming bill, but acknowledged it could be tough to police a “largely underground” phenomenon often confined to faith-based communities.

Rev. Dr. Glenn Schaeffer, president of the Alberta-British Columbia Lutheran Church district, recently wrote to Education Minister David Eggen about the government’s school guidelines respecting diverse sexual orientations, gender and identities.

Schaeffer outlined how schools could instead create safe and caring learning environments by enforcing anti-bullying legislation and providing “medical and psychological reparative therapy ” to “children suffering from gender dysphoria or an intersexual condition.”

If passed, the ban will bring Alberta in line with Manitoba and Ontario. Nova Scotia is also moving to prohibit conversion therapy.