House of Commons unanimously agrees to pass bill to ban conversion therapy
The House of Commons unanimously agreed to pass Bill C-4, the legislation to ban conversion therapy, through all stages without study or amendment after a Conservative motion, making it the first bill to pass the House in the 44th Parliament.
This rapid fast-tracking came just two days after the Liberals tabled re-worked and expanded legislation aiming to outright prohibit both adults and children from being subjected to harmful conversion therapy practices.
Bill C-4 proposes to eliminate the harmful practice in Canada for all ages, through four new Criminal Code offences. It includes wider-reaching vocabulary of what constitutes conversion therapy than what the federal government attempted to pass in the last Parliament.
Conversion “therapy,” as it has been called, seeks to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender. It can include seeking to repress someone’s non-heterosexual attraction, or repressing a person’s gender expression or non-cis gender identity.
These practices can take various forms, including counselling and behavioural modification, and they have been opposed by numerous health and human rights groups.
The legislation will now be in the hands of senators who may still want to seek changes.
If passed as is, Bill C-4 would make it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to cause another person to undergo conversion therapy. The 11-page bill also seeks to criminalize promoting, advertising, or profiting from providing the practice, with those found guilty of these offences facing up to two years in prison.
While Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole was set to make the bill a free vote, meaning he wouldn’t whip his caucus to vote one way or the other, there was no objection heard in the chamber to seeing the bill be expedited without changes. Passing the bill in this way meant that not every MP had to stand and take a position as is done in a recorded vote.
Conservative MP and justice critic Rob Moore was the one to raise the motion, asking that the bill move straight into the Senate.
When House Speaker Anthony Rota said that he “declared the motion carried,” MPs rose in a standing ovation and those responsible for the bill on the government side went across the chamber to shake hands and hug their Conservative colleagues.
“It's a fantastic day,” said the bill’s sponsor Justice Minister David Lametti, backed by a handful of out LGBTQ2S+ MPs after the decision.
“There are clearly people in the Conservative caucus who exercised a great deal of leadership on the issue, and I thank them, I thank them sincerely. They have done a very important thing for Canadians. This is what we can do when Parliament works together,” Lametti said.
“If we can now work hard to get this through the Senate quickly, less Canadians are going to suffer.”
After the Liberals campaigned on the promise to re-introduce legislation within the first 100 days of a new mandate, the government said it was determined to get it passed, voicing optimism in cross-party support after both the Conservatives and New Democrats pledged in the last campaign to pass the bill if elected.
Still, the move, particularly the Conservative’s willingness to expedite the bill without changes, came as a surprise -- 62 Conservative MPs had raised concerns over the bill and voted against implementing the ban in the last Parliament.
While O’Toole sought to frame himself as a more progressive leader during the 2021 campaign, the party’s platform included a commitment to seek amendments to clarify that “the ban does not criminalize non-coercive conversations.”
Coming out of a meeting with his entire caucus on Wednesday where the plan was discussed, O’Toole said that all of his MPs opposed the practice and “the LGBTQ community deserves real action,” calling himself a “long-time ally.”
This is the third iteration of conversion therapy legislation tabled by the Liberals over the last few years. The most recent past version got held up in the Senate at the end of the last Parliament and died when the election was called. The attempt before that died when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued the House in 2020.
Gemma Hickey, an LGBTQ2S+ rights advocate and conversion therapy survivor who joined the Liberals on Monday when the bill was tabled, said they were “overjoyed” by Wednesday’s “pleasant surprise.”
“I'm feeling so overjoyed today. I can't believe I lived to see this day, literally. After undergoing conversion therapy when I was 15 years old, I tried to take my own life. And so, I survived my suicide attempt and here I am to see this day… I can't tell you how happy I am right now,” Hickey said. “It makes me feel safer, you know, makes me feel proud to be from this country... This will save lives."
Amid questions over whether there are still Conservatives who oppose the bill, Conservative House leader Gerard Deltell said the whole caucus was behind seeing the bill move back to the legislative stage it was at six months ago before Trudeau launched the country into a summer campaign.
Both the Liberals and New Democrats celebrated that the bill had become the first piece of legislation to pass the House in the 44th Parliament, and were pleased to see that the bill advanced without having to re-traumatize the survivors who have already come forward during committee study on the previous draft to share their stories.
“I think the critical piece all through has been the testimony of survivors, and the work that survivors did in talking to members of Parliament about what they experienced as a result of conversion therapy, and the horrible negative aspects that conversion therapy has on people's lives,” said NDP 2SLGBTQI+ rights critic Randall Garrison. “These stories as they came forward, I think are what changed people's minds and what convinced people that this was important to get done.”
Noting the human cost of inaction on past attempts to pass this—conversion therapy still occurs in Canada—deputy NDP 2SLGBTQI+ rights critic and Canada’s first openly two-spirit MP Blake Desjarlais said seeing unanimous consent on this was particularly encouraging to see in his second week in the House.
“This place can work and it can get things done, and it's encouraging to know that more young people's lives won't be put at risk,” he said.
“I dream of a day when our LGBTQ issues are no longer political footballs, and we are one day closer to that future,” said Tourism Minister and out gay MP Randy Boissonnault, getting emotional. “I think we have turned a corner and turned up the heat that you can't stand against LGBTQ issues in this country anymore.”
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
Robert Pickton to remain in medically induced coma until later this week: police
Serial killer Robert Pickton will remain in a medically induced coma for at least the next few days following an attack in a Quebec prison Sunday, according to police spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu.
Charlie Colin, founding member of the pop-rock band Train, dies at 58
Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like 'Drops of Jupiter' and 'Meet Virginia,' has died. He was 58.
'Five feet nothing': Pickton's safety likely behind Quebec transfer, says ex-prison judge
When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from British Columbia's Kent Institution to a maximum security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities gave no public explanation or confirmation at the time, citing privacy.
'I feel betrayed': Ottawa-area customers out thousands of dollars warn of bad faith contractor
A group of people from eastern Ontario and western Quebec is issuing a warning about Dennis Walker and his company Vue Windows.
Fancy pigeon outfitted in custom diaper has free rein in B.C. family home
When Chrissy Chin volunteered to take in a fancy pigeon abandoned on a park bench, she never imagined she would one day be ordering custom-made diapers for the bird – who lives in her house and has become a member of the family.
'We'll need all hands on deck': Details emerge after deadly boat crash near Kingston
Police say they have wrapped up their on-scene investigation into a deadly boat crash in eastern Ontario as details of the incident begin to emerge.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.
5 dead and at least 35 hurt in Iowa tornado: officials
Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa Tuesday, with one carving a path of destruction through the town of Greenfield, officials said.
Woman found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017 matches identity of missing person in Switzerland
Genetic genealogy has helped Toronto police identify a woman who was found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017.
Local Spotlight
'Best experience ever': B.C. baker on making it to the finals of Netflix's 'Is it Cake?'
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
Winnipeg chef delivers Manitoba cuisine to Houston diners
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.