Councillor to call for city ban on conversion therapy
The City of Edmonton is not taking a stance in either direction on moving to ban the practice of conversion therapy and any further action will be up to city councillors.
Conversion therapy refers to any treatment or counselling claiming to be able to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity through spiritual or psychological intervention. Discredited by the Canadian Psychological Association, the practice has already been banned across Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Several municipalities have also taken their own action, most notably neighbouring St. Albert where a bylaw is currently being crafted to ban the practice and refuse a business licence to organizations that include it as part of their business model.
Edmonton city council will get its first crack at debating its next move on Aug. 21 after Ward 4 Coun. Aaron Paquette requested a report on how the city can act. He said many residents told him the practice has been happening in secret, underground and after-hours.
But city officials didn’t make a recommendation for council to move forward on banning the practice in the report released Thursday afternoon. Instead, it provided two options for council to consider: To wait and monitor the practice in Edmonton and any potential regulatory changes from the federal government criminalizing the practice or follow the lead from other municipalities and pass a bylaw to prohibit conversion therapy businesses. The report was intended to be just for information through the licensing lens, said Wai Tse Ramirez, the city’s general supervisor for business licensing, inspections and compliance, offering clarification Thursday afternoon.
Paquette said it is evident the therapy is damaging and he will be advocating for a ban at the community and public services committee meeting where the issue will be discussed.
“We’ve heard enough unsettling examples of the harm it’s caused in people’s lives that it’s become clear it shouldn’t be happening to anyone, anywhere, anymore,” he said in an email to Postmedia Thursday. “While the jurisdictional authority of municipalities is limited, taking a clear stand by enacting a bylaw both acts to limit conversion therapy practice in our city and sends a strong message to the other levels of government.”
But the city warned due to its underground nature and the fact most therapists don’t require a business licence, the move to ban could have little impact.
“This approach would be largely symbolic,” the report said. “It would not necessarily be effective at preventing conversion therapy from happening entirely, but rather would prohibit the practice as a business activity. As this practice is largely clandestine, enforcement may be challenging.
“Any business licence regulations that attempt to restrict or prohibit conversion therapy are unlikely to offer additional protection.”
Conversion therapy isn’t a specific business classification and so identifying these businesses could be a significant challenge. Religious and spiritual organizations are generally exempt from business licensing and psychologists and mental health practitioners are regulated by the province.
City councillors in St. Albert went above the information report presented to them and voted unanimously to ban the practice through its business licensing bylaw following a motion from Coun. Natalie Joly.
“Any steps government takes to condemn or regulate the practice of conversion therapy is important,” said Kristopher Wells, a Macewan University associate professor and Canada Research Chair specializing in sexual and gender minority youth and culture. “It’s a chance to step up and show leadership where the current provincial government hasn’t.”
Instead of waiting for other levels of government to take action, Wells said this is a chance for Edmonton to take a bold stand.
“I think we have the right people in place and we are the right community to help lead this action in Canada,” he said. “If the bylaw can simply save one person or help a survivor to be able to come forward and get help, I think the bylaw would have done more than enough.”