Rainbow Collective is looking for council to propose a bylaw prohibiting the practice of Conversion Therapy in Thunder Bay.
They, along with Northwood councillor Shelby Ch’ng, will make the case Monday night to begin the conversation about Bill C-6, which proposes to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to include conversion therapy related offences.
“It’s a discredited and harmful practice, that essentially is if you’re a two-spirit, queer, trans, bisexual person, that you could undergo counselling or therapy sessions to convert you back to being heterosexual,” explains Rainbow Collective President Jason Veltri. “It’s discredited by over 50 professional worldwide medical health organizations.”
Along with the Rainbow Collective presenters, an expert in the field will also be joining the conversation.
“We are going to be having Dr. Christopher Wells joining us from MacEwan University,” Veltri added. “He is a leading voice in this space. He has been on the frontline of the Edmonton and Calgary bylaw discussions, and supports all other organizations like ours who are beginning this work in our municipalities. We’re really excited to have him there to answer some of those tough questions people are asking, because he’s an expert on this.”
Bill C-6 was first introduced in March 2020 and is now before the Senate after it passed its second reading in June, with 62 Conservative MPs voting against it.
In Ontario there is an amending Bill to the Health Insurance Act that protects a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity, but only until the age of 18.
