With funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Intersectoral Action Fund (IAF), CBRC launched a one-year project to establish a national coalition to end conversion “therapy” practices in Canada as an extension of our ongoing collaborative work in this area. Through data collected from community surveys, dialogues at our annual Summit conference, and various projects that documented the experiences of survivors and assessed their support needs, we have gained valuable insight into our communities’ experiences of conversion practices. We have engaged survivors, policymakers, affirming faith communities, and 2S/LGBTQIA+ community organizations alike. We also launched stopconversionpractices.ca, an online knowledge centre about conversion "therapy" practices in Canada.
We know that coordinated, intersectoral, and national efforts are needed to end conversion practices and support survivors. In our current moment of rising hate towards 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities, different sectors must come together to work towards the same goal. Whether in policy, healthcare, faith spaces, or in community, misinformation and a lack of literacy around the law and conversion practices can make it difficult to identify, or to know what steps to take.
To ensure a shared understanding and analysis of the issues and some possible solutions, we have developed three key resources:
- A policy brief, Overcoming the Challenges with Canada’s Approach to Eliminating Conversion “Therapy” Practices, which summarizes the current state of conversion “therapy” practices in Canada.
- A fact sheet, Strategies to Strengthen Canada's Ban on Conversion “Therapy” Practices, which explains the current challenges in enforcing legislation and criminalizing conversion practices.
- An explainer, Ending Conversion “Therapy” Practices in Canada: Where We Are and What Happens Next, to help the general public understand the state of conversion practices in Canada and what’s needed to truly end conversion practices.
All of these resources include an overview of the challenges with Canada’s criminalization of conversion “therapy”, and recommendations on how we can better enforce Canada’s criminalization of conversion practices. They aim to inform policy, program responses, and accountability measures while providing education and capacity building leadership tools to end conversion practices in Canada.
As part of CBRC’s IAF Coalition Project, a legal and policy analysis was conducted by Egale Canada. This analysis was fundamental in the development of the above resources, which will be released publicly in the coming weeks. Below is more context around this analysis.
The Canadian Context: Egale’s Legal and Policy Analysis
The law can often be inaccessible, signaling a need for plain language and clear, accessible explanations. With this in mind, Egale’s legal and policy analysis of the federal law (Bill C-4) and other anti-conversion therapy legislation and policy, identifies barriers and gaps in preventing conversion practices in Canada, informs supplementary policy and program responses, and helps summarize the core elements, achievements, and limitations of anti-conversion therapy laws/bans.
Addressing conversion practices from a legal perspective presents challenges due to the nature of criminal law and the way the practices are carried out. For example, people who experience conversion practices are likely to find themselves in vulnerable situations, with conversion practitioners holding positions of trust—whether as healthcare providers, faith leaders, or family members. This power imbalance makes it difficult for survivors to come forward. Just because a practice is made illegal, that does not necessarily prevent it from occurring. Despite the federal criminalization of conversion “therapy”, these practices continue to take place across Canada. The criminal legal system requires survivors to report incidents and navigate the risks associated with engaging law enforcement. For marginalized queer, trans, and racialized communities, this process can be especially fraught, given complex historic and present-day relationships with law enforcement. Additionally, it remains uncertain whether law enforcement have received adequate, trauma-informed training to engage with survivors. When it comes to initiating complaints, survivors could face risks like having their claims dismissed or being retraumatized in the process. The evidentiary standard, or presumption of innocence, in criminal cases places a heavy burden on survivors, often making it difficult to prove a violation.
Ensuring accountability remains a significant challenge. While the federal government has criminalized conversion practices, it is unclear whose responsibility it is to actually ensure the law is effectively implemented. Egale’s analysis highlights that the responsibility for implementation lies with law enforcement and individual prosecutors, who are often scattered across the country. Egale’s forthcoming report highlights Quebec’s action plan as a potential model for addressing conversion practices. This plan requires various levels of government to report back to the legislature on the actions taken to prevent conversion practices, ensuring greater accountability and oversight.
Egale’s report—which canvasses the existing statutory landscape throughout Canada and the world, assesses the strengths and weaknesses of legislated prohibitions, and presents several legal, policy, and advocacy recommendations—will be released this spring. Its recommendations are presented in the spirit of helping clarify the answer to a simple question: What is next in the fight against conversion practices in Canada?
As we move forward, it is critical that we continue strengthening our collective response. Ending conversion practices in Canada requires not only legal enforcement but also broader systemic changes, including survivor support, public education, and community-led initiatives. Through collaboration and sustained advocacy, we can ensure that the ban on conversion practices is not just symbolic, but a meaningful step toward justice and healing for survivors.
