Health Canada 'exploring' policy change as ministers say sperm donor screening should be 'non-discriminatory'
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.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while carrying out an arrest in the town of Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.
Walmart Canada is not trying to profit from food inflation, president and CEO Gonzalo Gebara told a parliamentary committee studying the issue Monday evening.
The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.
The Vancouver Park Board and Britannia Community Services Centre cancelled an event Sunday that had been advertised as part of an Indigenous concert series in Grandview Park.
Here is a summary of the current COVID-19 vaccination guidelines from NACI, for both children and adults who are at increased risk of serious illness and those who are not.
As artificial intelligence software and advanced computers revolutionize modern technology, some researchers see a future where computer programmers leap from silicon to organic molecules.
A warning for consumers to expect to pay more next month for three key items, a reminder about COVID-19 booster shots, and police reveal what they know about a deadly shooting at a Nashville school. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Hockey Canada says players from the 2018 world junior hockey team will not be considered for international competition until an investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of the team is complete.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while carrying out an arrest in the town of Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
Family and friends of two police officers who were shot and killed while responding to a family dispute gathered in downtown Edmonton Monday to say goodbye to their loved ones.
The Calgary Fire Department says at least 10 people were injured in a 'sudden and devastating' explosion in the city's northeast on Monday that completely destroyed one home.
The Vancouver Park Board and Britannia Community Services Centre cancelled an event Sunday that had been advertised as part of an Indigenous concert series in Grandview Park.
A photographer whose work documents and celebrates the homoerotic is among the winners of this year's Governor General Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention centre near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead, a government agency said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his nuclear scientists to increase production of weapons-grade material to make bombs to put on his increasing range of weapons.
Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began a 12-day tour of China with a symbolism-laden visit to the mausoleum where a founding figure revered in both China and Taiwan is entombed.
Israel's political factions opposed to embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began setting up negotiating teams Tuesday after he paused a controversial judicial overhaul plan that had set off unprecedented street protests and a spiralling domestic crisis.
Moscow test-fired anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Japan, Russia's Defence Ministry said Tuesday, with two boats launching a simulated missile attack on a mock enemy warship about 100 kilometres away.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus appears to be another attempt to raise the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.
The 2023 federal budget will include a one-time 'grocery rebate' for Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Toronto MP Han Dong says he is taking legal action over a media report that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of two Canadians detained in China at the time.
A new study that looked at more than 300,000 patients found that a medical consultation prior to a routine surgery wasn’t connected to a better surgical outcome, suggesting these consultations might not be necessary.
In some U.S. states, proponents of gender-affirming care bans have argued for the last few years that minors are too young to make these medical decisions — but in 2023, legislative attempts to limit the health-care options for transgender youth have expanded to a new age group: adults.
Hershey Co. is looking to reduce 'trace' amounts of lead and cadmium in its chocolate, chief financial officer Steve Voskiul told Reuters on Wednesday, after Consumer Reports found that some dark chocolate bars had potentially harmful levels of the heavy metals.
As artificial intelligence software and advanced computers revolutionize modern technology, some researchers see a future where computer programmers leap from silicon to organic molecules.
Gwyneth Paltrow's attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children on Tuesday in the first full day of the movie star's trial that they have to call witnesses to make their case.
Prince Harry returned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail.
A photographer whose work documents and celebrates the homoerotic is among the winners of this year's Governor General Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Protests and strikes against unpopular pension reforms kicked off again Tuesday across France, with police security ramped up against feared violence and government warnings that radical demonstrators intend "to destroy, to injure and to kill."
Global shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors got some relief from worries over troubled U.S. lenders from a takeover of failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Title insurers need to be brought under anti-money laundering rules to fight against scam artists who impersonate homeowners to sell or mortgage their properties, a former insurance executive says.
If you're feeling alone or dissatisfied, a new research suggests that watching live sports in person may help you to improve your level of well-being and reduce that feeling of loneliness.
Some 200 protesters gathered beneath Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Sugarloaf Mountain to protest the ongoing construction of ziplines aimed at boosting tourism, alleging it will cause unacceptable impacts.
This past week, Parks Canada opened up its reservation system for the 2023 season, offering places to stay, hikes to take and national historic sites to visit across the country. According to three experts, here's where to travel this summer.
Tereza Vanisova scored 4:23 into overtime, and the Premier Hockey Federation's Isobel Cup is heading to Canada for the first time in its eight-year history following the Toronto Six's 4-3 win over the Minnesota Whitecaps on Sunday night.
If you're feeling alone or dissatisfied, a new research suggests that watching live sports in person may help you to improve your level of well-being and reduce that feeling of loneliness.
Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling at home again. It took only two games for him to make his peace with Portugal's national team and show he is not done impressing at the international level just yet.
A federal lawsuit filed Monday by the city of St. Louis accuses automakers Kia and Hyundai of failing to install industry-standard anti-theft technology, resulting in thousands of vehicle thefts in the Missouri city.
About two-thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved, the federal auditor general says in a new report.
