Conversion therapy ban expected to proceed
$10,000 fine for trying to change anyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity
Calgary city council is poised to unanimously approve a ban on conversion therapy on Monday after receiving an overwhelming amount of public feedback.
Councillors heard from 121 speakers at a public hearing and received about 1,800 written submissions, with people arguing for and against a ban on the controversial practice. Coun. Gian-carlo Carra said it’s rare to receive that much feedback but showed that banning the practice is “very clearly” the right thing to do.
“When we talk about who we are as Calgarians, we pride ourselves on the fact that we are a place where no matter who you are, where you come from, what you have or who you love, you’re welcome here,” he said.
Conversion therapy is the discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, which has been widely denounced by human-rights and medical organizations worldwide.
Carra said the public hearing made it clear the practice continues to take place in the city and further marginalizes an already vulnerable population.
He said passing the bylaw will represent a “societal shift.”
“It really is a turning point in the conversation with ourselves about who and what we are.
“Obviously, we respect and support religious freedom, but religious freedom is really, under the charter of rights, an individual getting to choose what they believe, not about a group being able to impose things on other individuals, especially when those other things don’t comport with scientific reality.”
Twenty-three local organizations serving the city’s gender and sexually diverse communities — including Calgary Pride, the Centre for Sexuality and Skipping Stone Foundation — stand behind the bylaw in a letter to councillors. So do 44 faith leaders from religious organizations near and far, in a different letter addressed to council.
Shone Thistle, president of the Calgary Pride volunteer board, said the group penned its letter after a backlash against the proposed bylaw in the first batch of public feedback, with some saying it would infringe on their personal freedoms.
“It became clear, very quickly, that we needed to rally Calgarians and local organizations to speak up in support of the bylaw,” she said.
Subsequent responses overwhelmingly supported the ban and big names, including Jann Arden and k.d. lang, publicly backed the city proposal with no amendments.
“Who we are matters to us, and if we allow this practice to continue it says something ugly about who we are, and we don’t want to believe that to be true,” Thistle said. “Any legislation, municipal, provincial or federal, to stop abuse, fraud and torture — quite frankly — is worth the effort.”
Thistle said the ban does not, in any way, contradict the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
If approved, the bylaw will come into effect immediately. Businesses advertising or offering conversion therapy will face a $10,000 fine.
The proposed bylaw defines conversion therapy as “a practice, treatment or service designed to change, repress or discourage a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.”
It does not include a “person’s non-judgmental exploration and acceptance of their identity or development.”