Hon. René Cormier moved second reading of Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy).

He said: Dear colleagues, I am feeling emotional as I rise today to begin debate at second reading of Bill C-4, which proposes to prohibit conversion therapy, an odious practice that stigmatizes and discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit communities.

This practice is harmful for those subjected to it and detrimental to society in general. Pseudo-therapies that perpetuate stereotypes and myths have no place in Canadian society.

Although these interventions are often called conversion “therapies,” there is nothing therapeutic about them. They are based on the premise that LGBTQ2+ individuals can and must change, and they often take insidious forms.

For those who still doubt that this harmful practice takes place in our country, the results of the 2019-20 Sex Now Survey show that approximately 10% of men belonging to a sexual minority who responded to the survey had been subjected to conversion therapy in Canada.

This survey also found that exposure to these destructive practices was greater among non-binary and transgender individuals, immigrants, youth and low-income persons.

In most cases, the conversion therapy was experienced in religious settings, and in other cases, it was considered health care. Esteemed colleagues, conversion therapy is a real thing, it is harmful and it is still going on in our country.

For decades, the LGBTQ2+ community, especially those who have survived this type of therapy, has been bravely and assiduously advocating for an end to this wrong-headed practice. The time has finally come to respond and to protect adults and children.

Bill C-4 includes enhanced versions of the protections proposed in the former Bill C-6, which was introduced in the previous Parliament, and it sends a clear and necessary message. No form of conversion therapy will be tolerated in Canada.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the emotional reaction many Canadians had when this bill was unanimously passed in the other place on December 1.

Although we were startled by how quickly it was passed, the solidarity shown in that place speaks to the values we cherish as Canadians: equality, dignity and respect for all, regardless of our differences.

Bill C-4 represents another step in the long process to have the rights of the LGBTQ2+ community recognized in Canada.

From the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969 to the passage of Bill C-23 in 2000, which gave same-sex couples the same social and tax benefits as heterosexual couples in common-law relationships, the Civil Marriage Act in 2005, which made same-sex marriage legal across Canada, Bill C-16 in 2017, which added gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and Bill C-66 in 2018, a bill that I had the privilege of sponsoring in the Senate and that expunges historically unjust convictions against people in the LGBTQ2+ communities, our country has reached important milestones in upholding the fundamental rights and dignity of all citizens.

It would take several legislative attempts to get to this bill, and for that, allow me to salute our former colleague, retired senator Serge Joyal, who introduced Bill S-260 in this chamber during the Forty-second Parliament, bringing this issue to the attention of his parliamentary colleagues.

Today it is up to us to carry the torch by taking a careful and thorough look at Bill C-4, showing empathy and working diligently so that all Canadians, regardless of their age, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, can love the person of their choice, be free to be loved themselves and live their truth in safety.

[English]

Bill C-4 is specifically designed to protect the dignity and equality of LGBTQ2+ Canadians by ending conversion therapy in Canada. It would do so by criminalizing conversion therapy in all settings, regardless of age or consent. Although former Bill C-6 would have comprehensively protected children, it would only have protected adults from forced conversion therapy and prohibited the commercialization of the practice. Bill C-4’s comprehensive approach is intended to target the different types of harms that conversion therapy poses. These harms can manifest themselves at the individual level, including for persons who had consented to undergo conversion practices.

The research about the harms of conversion therapy stemming from Canada and the U.S. clearly identifies its devastating outcomes for individuals, including feelings of shame, isolation, anxiety, depression, problematic substance use and suicidality. For example, the 2019 American Trevor Project National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 57% of transgender and non-binary youth who have undergone conversion therapy report a suicide attempt in the last year.

Canadian and international professional associations have denounced these practices. To name a few: the World Health Organization, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Human Rights Committee, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, l’Ordre professionnel des sexologues du Québec, and the Canadian Association of Social Workers were clear about these practices. They are dangerous.

I would also like to bring to your attention the testimonies of the courageous individuals who appeared in the other place during the study of former Bill C-6. Their words are revealing. They said that the harms of conversion therapy are serious, regardless of age or consent, and that the best way to protect against them is to totally ban the practice. We need to listen to them, colleagues.

There is ample evidence of the harmful effects on victims of conversion therapy, but let us not forget that the effects of these discriminatory practices are also manifested on a larger societal scale. Indeed, the very existence of conversion therapy practices is harmful to the dignity and equality of LGBTQ2+ communities, because these practices posit that there is something fundamentally wrong with LGBTQ2+ individuals, and that they should change who they are, who they love, and how they express themselves to arrive at a sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression that some believe is preferable.

[Translation]

This premise is inherently discriminatory and harmful, not only to LGBTQ2+ communities, but also to society in general, because we are all diminished by practices that undermine the equality and dignity of every member of our society.

One way to end practices based on such a hurtful and discriminatory premise is to prohibit them altogether, regardless of whether an individual grants consent.

This is not an unusual or inappropriate role for criminal law. The federal Parliament has the jurisdiction to criminalize a legitimate public health harm. In this case, the evidence is overwhelming. Conversion therapy is deeply harmful.

Banning conversion therapy, when the recipient is a consenting adult, naturally raises questions about compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The idea of conversion therapy may be linked to religious beliefs for some people, while others may believe that they should have the freedom to choose the interventions they feel would benefit them.

However, the well-documented harms, as well as the prevalence of conversion therapy practices among vulnerable members of an already marginalized community, support the decision for a complete ban on these practices.

[English]

To this, I would add that we cannot ignore the notable movement on the international scene that points to an emerging consensus about conversion therapy’s harms and legal responses to prohibit it, such as those proposed in this bill.

The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity released his report entitled Practices of so-called “conversion therapy” in the spring of 2020.

That report found that the best way to address conversion therapy’s harms is to ban the practice from being advertised and carried out in all settings, whether public or private, including education, community or religious settings. In particular, the UN Independent Expert’s report describes the practices of conversion therapy as “. . . deeply harmful interventions that rely on the medically false idea that LGBT and other gender diverse persons are sick . . . .”

The report also notes that these practices inflict severe pain and suffering and result in long-lasting psychological and physical damage.

Colleagues, let me quote two passages from this report:

All practices attempting conversion are inherently humiliating, demeaning and discriminatory. The combined effects of feeling powerless and extreme humiliation generate profound feelings of shame, guilt, self-disgust, and worthlessness, which can result in a damaged self-concept and enduring personality changes.

These practices also violate the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, since they take point of departure in the belief that sexually diverse or gender-diverse persons are somehow inferior – morally, spiritually or physically – than their heterosexual and cisgender siblings and must modify their orientation or identity to remedy that inferiority. Therefore, any means and mechanisms that treat LGBT persons as lesser human beings are degrading by their very definition and may amount to torture depending on the circumstances, namely the severity of physical and mental pain and suffering inflicted.

[Translation]

In addition to the UN Independent Expert’s report, several countries are studying or have adopted mechanisms to ban conversion therapy.

The Australian Capital Territory recently passed legislation criminalizing the practice of conversion therapy on minors and people with impaired decision-making ability.

France has also introduced a bill to ban conversion therapy practices that affect a person’s mental or physical health.

This summer, a bill was introduced in New Zealand that would make it an offence to perform conversion therapy on a minor or a person who lacks decision-making capacity and to perform a conversion practice on anyone if it causes serious harm. Serious harm is defined as:

 . . . any physical, psychological, or emotional harm that seriously and detrimentally affects the health, safety, or welfare of the individual.

Consent would not be a defence against either proposed offence.

In addition, the British government is currently holding public consultations on a proposal to criminalize certain aspects of conversion therapy, particularly in the form of “talking conversion therapy,” as well as physical acts conducted in the name of conversion therapy.

Lastly, senators will recall that Malta was the first nation to criminalize conversion therapy on “vulnerable persons,” which includes people under the age of 16.

In Canada, various provinces, one territory and several municipalities have done their part in their respective jurisdictions.

The Yukon, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have enacted legislation specifying that conversion therapy is not an insured health service and banning health care professionals, and in some cases everyone, from providing treatment in specific circumstances. Manitoba has issued a position statement against these practices.

Municipalities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, St. Albert, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina and Kingston have answered the call by prohibiting businesses from offering conversion therapy within their city limits.

Dear colleagues, these Canadian and international steps add momentum to the movement to ban conversion therapy. They send a clear message that our country is more than ready to put an end to such practices and that the approach of Bill C-4, which consists of using criminal law to completely ban this harmful practice in all settings and disciplines, is neither unique nor inappropriate.

[English]

I would now like to discuss the definition of conversion therapy included in Bill C-4 since it impacts the scope of all four of the bill’s proposed offences.

Bill C-4 defines “conversion therapy” as a “practice, treatment or service,” which I will collectively refer to as an intervention, that is designed to achieve one of the six prohibited objectives:

(a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;

(b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;

(c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;

(d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour;

(e) repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or

(f) repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.

Specifying that interventions designed to repress or reduce non-heteronormative or non-cisnormative feelings or behaviour as being “conversion therapy” responds to concerns that conversion therapy providers could seek to avoid criminal liability by hiding behind a thinly veiled argument that their efforts are intended to reduce or repress certain forms of feelings or expression, not change who a person is.

The definition also includes a very important “for greater certainty” clause, which clarifies that interventions aimed at helping a person explore or develop their integrated personal identity are not conversion therapy if they are not based on the assumption that a particular sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression is to be preferred over another. Again, this clause protects legitimate supportive practices, services and treatments and not conversion therapy practices purporting to help an individual change a fundamental aspect of their identity under the guise of identity development or reconciliation therapy.

This clause also clarifies that gender transition interventions, those steps that would be chosen and taken by a person to live more in accordance with their gender identity or expression, are not conversion therapies.

In the previous Parliament, concerns were expressed that former Bill C-6’s definition, which was substantively the same as that proposed by Bill C-4, was vague and may capture mere conversations about sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. I would like to address this concern directly and explain why I do not share it.

This bill’s definition contains two separate components, both of which must be met. First, the conduct must constitute an intervention or, in the precise words of the bill, a “practice, treatment or service.” Those terms have a clear, literal meaning that imply established, structured or formalized interventions that are generally offered to the public or a segment of the public. Second, an intervention must also be designed to achieve one of the definition’s prohibited purposes: namely, to impose heteronormative or cisnormative standards on the individual subjected to it.

This approach to defining “conversion therapy” is entirely appropriate and consistent with the bill’s important objectives of protecting LGBTQ2+ persons from interventions that discriminate against them.

[Translation]

The definition was carefully tailored to target only interventions that cause harm because they are based on the premise that heteronormative and cisnormative identities and expressions are to be preferred over other identities and expressions.

Bill C-4 would also protect all Canadians from the commercialization of the practice by prohibiting anyone from receiving some benefit from conversion therapy or promoting or advertising it. It also provides an extra layer of protection for children by targeting people who want to remove them from the country to have them undergo conversion therapy.

Esteemed colleagues, this bill clearly amends the Criminal Code to create the following offences. Charges may be laid against those who knowingly cause another person to undergo conversion therapy, including by providing conversion therapy to that other person; those who knowingly promote or advertise conversion therapy; those who receive a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained or derived directly or indirectly from the provision of conversion therapy; and those who remove a child under 18 from the country to subject that child to conversion therapy.

Exactly what Bill C-4 would ban was carefully drafted to include only harmful practices aimed at changing someone’s identity, based on the discriminatory premise that certain sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions are less desirable than others.

It does not include supportive interventions or the mere expression of beliefs about sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Furthermore, the proposed approach does not prevent individuals from making their own choices about how to express their gender identity or sexual orientation. It only addresses interventions that are designed to change an individual’s identity.

The approach taken in Bill C-4 may seem bold, but a comprehensive ban is the best way to achieve the important goal of protecting LGBTQ2+ individuals and communities from the harms and discrimination that result from conversion therapy.

Colleagues, I personally am proud that Canada is showing leadership on this issue. Indeed, this bill would place Canada at the forefront of the international community. Passing it here in this country would make a difference for all Canadians, of course, but when we think of the victims of these practices around the world, we can easily imagine the impact it would have on the international stage.

[English]

Canadians value diversity; we know that. We want a country that respects the differences between us. That is the very aspect of Canada that defines us. In Canada, everyone should feel safe to be who they are.

I know we are all committed to realizing Bill C-4’s overarching objective of protecting the dignity and equality of all Canadians. This bill reflects our fundamental Canadian values, as articulated in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I know that we all agree that Canada should be a place where diversity is celebrated, not reviled — a place where everyone can live in equality and freedom.

[Translation]

Honourable colleagues, this bill is not one of opposition. It does not seek to cast judgment on individual religious beliefs. It does not seek to prevent parents who care about their children’s health and happiness from having conversations with them.

Nor does it seek to prohibit teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity with their students. Above all, it seeks full recognition for the fundamental right of each and every person to live in dignity.

After doing some research and investigation into the matter, and thinking about the more than 47,000 men who have undergone conversion therapy in Canada, as reported in the Sex Now Survey that I mentioned earlier, I look forward to us being able to study and pass Bill C-4 in a timely manner.

To close on a more personal note, I would like to say that fortunately, there are many people in Canada who have not experienced conversion therapy. Thanks to the support of their communities, some individuals did not have to make these painful choices. People going through the process of accepting their sexual orientation or gender identity experience some dark and tortured times. Wanting to end their suffering becomes their only thought.

When I was 19 years old, I was so distraught, I could have ended up dying by suicide or undergoing conversion therapy like many others. The inner torment was overwhelming, and the fear of rejection was so real. Fortunately, I am here today thanks to my family, my community and my friends, who supported me without judgment as I came to accept who I was. I am so grateful to everyone who helped me.

Esteemed colleagues, today my thoughts are with the victims of conversion therapy, those who survived and had the courage to share their stories and those who, sadly, did not survive these terrible, discriminatory practices.

As legislators, let’s ensure that anyone who is dealing with these agonizing choices has the opportunity to live a full life. Let’s pass Bill C-4 so these people are not pushed into anything that could have a disastrous impact on them.

Human Rights Day is in a few days, and I urge all of us to work together, as I know we can do, to study and pass Bill C-4 as quickly as possible so that everyone living in this country can be protected and loved for who they are, as human beings asking only to live, love, be happy and contribute to society.

Thank you. Wela’lin. Meegwetch.

[English]