CONVERSION THERAPY BAN
Councillor defends dissenting vote
First-time city councillor Landon Mohl has taken to social media to defend his dissenting vote against a proposed bylaw banning conversion therapy in Regina at the same time it's sparking a backlash.
“This bylaw bans more than just conversion therapy,” wrote Mohl in a lengthy Facebook post on July 14, the same day as the council meeting and vote. “It bans counselling to change someone's orientation from gay to straight but it also bans counselling for LGBTQ+ people who may want to change their behaviours or attractions, even if they are not trying to be straight.”
Other members of council, as well as lawyers and policy experts who addressed council in April have dismissed this concern as unfounded, but dozens of people — Regina residents and not — have continued to bring the issue to the floor of city council.
Mohl did not respond this week to several requests for an interview.
During the July 14 city council meeting, Mohl said he supports a ban on conversion therapy, but argued the definition used in the bylaw is problematic and actually discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community instead of protecting it.
“We had a motion in April that quotes the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and the Canadian Psychiatric Association but their definition of conversion therapy is not even the same as the definition in the bylaw,” he wrote in his Facebook post later that evening.
If it were, he'd support it, says the post.
Mohl's stance has fuelled concern within the province's labour movement. In a letter provided to the Leader-post and addressed to the president of the Regina & District Labour Council (RDLC), CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) Saskatchewan president Judy Henley wrote that Mohl's “comments and questions at city council meetings on this issue have been harmful to the LGBTQ2S+ community,” including its own members. The RDLC endorsed Mohl in last fall's election.
Dated July 15 and addressed to RDLC president Shobna Radons, the letter calls on the RDLC to publicly revoke its endorsement of Mohl and “clearly articulate that his values are irreconcilable with the values of the labour movement.” It also asks that additional vetting steps be taken in future elections.
A communications representative for CUPE Saskatchewan confirmed the letter, but declined to comment until RDLC responds. In a text message, Radons said it is an internal matter following internal processes and also declined to comment.
At an April 28 meeting, council did approve a motion asking that council “formally joins” the CPA in affirming “that all adolescent and adult persons have the right to define their own gender identity regardless of chromosomal sex, genitalia, assigned birth sex, or initial gender role. Moreover, all adolescent and adult persons have the right to free expression of their self-defined gender identity” as well opposing “the use of reparative or conversion therapy.”
The motion did not ask for any specific wording from the CPA in the bylaw. A separate motion directed administration to draft a bylaw modelled on the City of Saskatoon's bylaw, which it did.
The definition in the bylaw going to a third reading in August is identical to that of Saskatoon's. It prohibits the “offering or provision of counselling or behaviour modification techniques” and “any other purported treatment, practice or the offering or sale of any goods,” but does not include “those that relate to a person's exploration and development of an integrated personal identity without favouring any particular sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
In his Facebook post, Mohl contends the exemption doesn't go far enough because it allows exploration of one's sexual orientation or gender identity, but only if it does not favour one sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Exploration can only happen if it includes any kind of exploration, whether its exploring heterosexuality or non-heterosexuality,” he wrote. “LGBTQ+ people have a right to get support to change behaviours THEY no longer want to practise, just like straight people.”
This bylaw bans more than just conversion therapy. LANDON MOHL, in a July 14 Facebook post