Health Canada 'exploring' policy change as ministers say sperm donor screening should be 'non-discriminatory'
Health Canada is "exploring" whether a federal policy that restricts gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada should change, after CTV News exclusively reported on Wednesday that a gay man is taking the federal government to court over it.
"With the recent change in screening criteria for donating blood, we understand that Health Canada is exploring if similar updates can be made in the context of donor sperm and ova," said Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien's office in a statement.
"Canadians deserve policies that are safe, non-discriminatory and based in science—no matter who you love," said Ien's press secretary Johise Namwira.
Commitments to look into the current policy were made by a few ministers on Parliament Hill on Thursday, on the heels of the CTV News report that a Toronto man is challenging the constitutionality of a Health Canada directive that deems any man who has had sex with another man in the preceding three months as an "unsuitable" donor.
It's a blanket policy that the man bringing the legal challenge says makes him feel like a "second-class citizen."
"Why I decided to take this to court is because of that feeling of discrimination," said Aziz M., the man bringing the lawsuit. Out of concern for his privacy, CTV News has agreed not to use his full name.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who once was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's special adviser on LGBTQ2S+ issues, said that the Liberal government has "made a lot of strides" but "we're always going to have more work to do."
"Issues like this that come up need to be unraveled so that we have full participation in society by people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression," Boissonnault said.
JUSTICE MINISTER WILL 'LOOK AT' THE ISSUE
Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters that the policy was "certainly something that we will look at."
"I've [been] made aware of the issue this morning when I read the papers, and certainly, we live in a charter society," Lametti told reporters on Parliament Hill on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in January with the Superior Court of Ontario and Lametti, as the Attorney General of Canada, is the respondent.
Gregory Ko, who is co-counsel on the case and a partner at law firm Kastner Lam LLP, says that the Attorney General has assigned a lawyer in their Toronto office to respond to the litigation.
MINISTERS CITE 'RECENT' BLOOD DONATION CHANGE
Last year, after years of successive updates and backed by research and risk modelling, a similar policy restricting blood donations from men who have sex with men was replaced by a behaviour-based screening system for all donors, regardless of gender or sexuality.
This change to the blood donation rules is part of the reason why the current sperm regulations are under the microscope. It raises questions over why, when layers of testing and screening are involved, the science in one instance supports moving away from a blanket restriction, and the other doesn’t.
"It's similar to the unscientific and discriminatory ban," said NDP MP and health critic Don Davies. "It sounds to me like it's a similar issue."
When the blood donation screening criteria changed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cheered the end of what he said was a "discriminatory and wrong" policy.
RULES SHOULD BE 'BASED ON EVIDENCE'
Asked whether, similar to the blood ban, they think the current sperm donation regulations are discriminatory, the ministers who CTV News spoke with weren't definitive.
"Whatever rules there are should be based on evidence," said Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould. "We should be making sure that it's based on actual evidence and that we shouldn't be doing anything that is discriminatory on behalf of the Government of Canada."
Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge—who made history as the first out lesbian federal cabinet minister when she was named to Trudeau's cabinet in 2021—said "generally speaking I don't think that there should be discrimination against gay men."
Boissonnault said it's an issue that he'll be raising with Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who is facing calls to use the power he has as the minister responsible, to step in and update the directive.
"I think it's the minister's duty to ensure that there's no discrimination in Canadian health policy," said Davies.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.