The Federal Liberals are wasting no time in advancing their anti-family, anti-parental rights agenda.

On Monday, November 29, 2021 Federal Justice Minister David Lametti introduced Bill C-4, the revamped “Conversion Therapy” ban bill. 

This new Bill C-4 is the replacement of the “old” C-6 which was on its way to becoming law, but then suddenly died when Trudeau called the federal election this fall.

The new version defines “Conversion Therapy” as counselling that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to one that conforms to the “sex assigned at birth”.

Whereas its predecessor, C-6, made it a criminal offence to force an adult to undergo therapy that does not affirm gender transition or homosexual orientation, the new bill prohibits these choices to consenting adults altogether.

This new bill, just like C-6, will promote gender transitioning for minors by preventing any therapy that doesn’t gladly affirm a lifetime of medical interventions that many transitioners come to regret!

We need to oppose this bill that will criminalize parents who seek “watch-and-wait” counselling for their gender dysphoric children with a five-year prison term! PAFE continues to have concerns that private conversations between parents and children that wouldn’t lead to their child becoming transgender or acting on his or her same-sex attraction could be penalized.

The bill restricts any counselling for gender dysphoric individuals except that which affirms a person in their chosen gender. Any counsellor who proposes to explore underlying mental-health issues instead – known as watchful waiting – risks being accused of conversion therapy. According to the brief submitted to the House of Commons on Bill C-6 by Detrans Canada, the majority of people seeking to transition experience mental-health co-morbidities such as internalized homophobia, bullying, sexual violence, body dysmorphia, PTSD, OCD, eating disorders, depression, autism, anxiety, and more.

Up to 98% of boys and 88% of girls resolve feelings of gender dysphoria, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Detrans Canada states that de-transitioners commonly reject their new gender identity when they find that their original mental health issues are not solved by transitioning. Moreover, they may begin to regret the loss of their fertility or the negative medical outcomes of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, which can include reduced bone density, loss of fertility and the reduction or elimination of sexual function. Transgender Trend recently posted a video showing the injurious effects of puberty blockers on Swedish children. One of the interviewees, Leo, complained that he hasn’t grown, has osteopenia and spinal fractures and is in constant pain.

Swedish child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Christopher Gillberg said in 2019 he thinks that offering unproven gender affirmation therapies may be "possibly one of the greatest scandals in medical history” (Doctors back inquiry on kids' trans care, The Australian, Sep 25, 2019).

Sweden has since ended the prescription of hormones and puberty blockers for minors, and Finland has decided that the front-line treatment for gender dysphoria should be psychotherapy rather than hormones or surgery.

You can read the entire Bill C-4 by clicking here.

Bill C-6 passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 263-63, and then passed first and second reading in the Senate. It then died when Liberals called the federal election in the fall of 2021. The new bill began the process over again on Nov. 29 in the House, where it must pass second and third readings before being passed to the Senate.

At this stage we don’t yet know if there will be committee hearings on the bill in the House or not, because there are so few changes from its predecessor, C-6. It’s possible that second reading could come sooner rather than later, even as soon as the end of the week.

ACTION ITEM:

It’s urgent that you contact your MP, especially if you have a newly elected MP who might not be familiar with our concerns. Please inform your MP that C-4 has broad opposition from parents, a growing body of de-transitioners, LGBT groups who argue that the bill discriminates against gay people who want counselling to reinforce their gay identity rather than proceed to a gender transition, religious groups, and concerned medical professionals. 

If you need more help explaining what’s wrong with Bill C-4, you can consult our brief on C-6.

1. Please implore your local lawmaker to vote against Bill C-4 because it:

• Forces children toward a therapeutic pathway of affirmative medicine that is associated with significant medical risks and permanent sterility
  
  
• Deprives parents of psychotherapeutic options for their gender dysphoric children that are considered the gold standard in other jurisdictions such as Finland and Sweden
  
  
• Threatens the parental right to direct their children’s health care
  
  
• Restricts the freedom of expression of medical professionals and religious leaders

2. Find your MP by clicking here.  You just type in your postal code, then click on the name of your MP, then click on the "Contact" tab to get his/her contact information.

3. Please let us know that you have contacted your MP by emailing [email protected]