On March 9, the Federal Government introduced amendments to the Criminal Code to ban so-called conversion therapy as applied to gender identity and sexual orientation.
In Bill C-8, conversion therapy is defined broadly as ‘a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cis-gender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.’
The legislation says conversion therapy does not include a practice, treatment or service that relates: a) to a person’s gender transition; or b) to a person’s exploration of their identity or to its development. This means that providing services to someone with the aim of helping them change gender is not conversion therapy.
