Coercive, degrading actions that seek to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity should be banned.

Bill C-6, though, does something different. It applies the label "conversion therapy" to a broad range of practices and even private conversations, going far beyond what most people think of when they hear this term.

The definition in Bill C-6 says that conversion therapy is "a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour."

The definition does not just apply to efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation – it could also ban many different kinds of advice and counsel from parents, teachers, and guidance counselors encouraging children to reduce their sexual behaviour. (E.g., A counselor encourages a young person to reduce his or her number of sexual partners).

Bill C-6 could open the door for law enforcement to tap into private family communications to investigate discussion that might fit the bill’s broad definition of “conversion therapy”.

Further, while Bill C-6 expressly allows counselling, medical, and surgical efforts to change a child’s gender, it expressly prohibits any support for a child seeking to de-transition to their birth (cis) gender.

If passed, Bill C-6 could restrict the choices of LGBTQ2 Canadians concerning sexuality and gender by prohibiting access to any professional or spiritual support freely chosen to limit sexual behaviour or de-transition.

I call on the government to fix the definition of conversion therapy in Bill C-6, to:

• Ban coercive, degrading practices that are designed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity;

• Ensure that no laws discriminate against Canadians by limiting what services they can receive based on their sexual orientation or gender identity;

• Allow parents to speak with their own children about sexuality and gender, and set house rules about sex and relationships;

• Allow free and open conversations about sexuality and sexual behaviour; and

• Not criminalize professional and religious counseling voluntarily requested and consented to by LGBTQ2 Canadians.