Content warning: Mentions of physical assault, anti-LGBTQ2SIA hate crimes, starvation, and religious trauma
Parliament passed Bill C-4 on December 8, 2021, amending the Canadian Criminal Code to criminalize “caus[ing] another person to undergo conversion therapy, including by providing conversion therapy to that person,” as well as advertising or benefiting materially from conversion therapy.
Bill C-4 defines conversion therapy as “any practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or a person’s gender identity to cisgender.” Tactics associated with conversion therapy include religious ceremonies, physical violence, and deprivation of food and water.
The legislation was the government’s third attempt to ban conversion therapy after two previous bills were voted down by Conservative lawmakers. Nevertheless, Bill C-4 secured a unanimous vote. The Minister for Justice’s Parliamentary Secretary Gary Anandasangaree suggested that “[the opposition] felt the pressure from Canadians” in an interview with The Strand.
Anandasangaree promised the federal government would “bring forward programs … and education of issues such as conversion therapy” to support the enforcement of Bill C-4. He also said that the Minister for Justice “will be addressing hate speech and its impact, especially through social media.”
Nick Schiavo, Executive Director of the non-profit No Conversion Canada, told The Strand that banning conversion therapy was “fundamentally about whether or not queer people have a right to exist.” He described No Conversion Canada’s advocacy as “a team effort,” saying that it involved “tough conversations with policymakers … ensuring that survivors’ voices are at the table.”
One such survivor is Ben Rodgers, who runs a survivors’ support group called CT Survivors Connect. In an interview with The Strand, Rodgers shared his experience of conversion therapy at the age of 19. “I had to go through this dry fast, which means no food and no liquids. They had me do that for three days prior to attending a church service.”
“They laid their hands on me, pressing their hands on my head, my shoulders, my chest. One of them pressed down on my gut. They screamed at me in these spiritual tongues to ‘cast out the demons.’” The trauma from the experience continues today, 16 years later. “I cried more than I have in years,” Rodgers said, describing talking to lawmakers about the treatment for the first time.
Ben Rodgers’ testimony before the Kingston City Council, along other survivors and activists in the area, led to Kingston becoming the first municipality in Ontario to ban conversion therapy in January 2021.
The fight against conversion therapy continues after the federal government’s ban. “Even with Bill C-4, we need proactive efforts. We need education, we need awareness, we need legal aid. We need municipal bylaws and provincial laws on top of the federal legislation,” Schiavo told The Strand.
Nevertheless, Schiavo and Rodgers praised Bill C-4. “Bill C-4 is historic. It’s monumental,” Schiavo said. Rodgers agreed, saying, “Bill C-4 being passed is a very big positive step in LGBTQ rights.” Rodgers stipulated, however, that “governments need to step up” and do more to support survivors of conversion therapy.
“Kingston has put a motion forward for $20,000 per year for the next three years for survivor-led supports,” Rodgers told The Strand, saying that the funding CT Survivors Connect will receive through the program “will make advocacy work a lot easier.”
CT Survivors Connect has a GoFundMe page for donations. Rodgers is currently “developing educational resources for the CT Survivors Connect website,” which Rodgers hopes will serve as the “introduction to conversion therapy for Canada.”
