HAPPY PRIDE

Canada Officially Outlaws Gay Conversion Therapy

The measure came into effect a month after the law unanimously passed Canada’s legislative bodies last month.

Canada has officially outlawed gay conversion therapy, CTV News reported. Friday marked the official enforcement of a newly revised Criminal Code, with those who seek to carry out the practice subject to five years in prison. The Canada law, Bill C-4, was passed unanimously last month through both its legislative bodies. “The passing of Bill C-4 and the unanimous support it received from every official in Parliament sends a clear message to LGBTQ2 Canadians: you are valid and deserving of a life free from harm,” Nicholas Schiavo, the founder of No Conversion Canada, said in a statement with other LGBTQ organizations at the time. “Today, as we celebrate this historic moment, we must thank survivors and their tireless advocacy to reach this moment where conversion ‘therapy’ is finally outlawed in our country.” The practice, which has been outlawed in several U.S. states and other countries, seeks to “convert” someone’s sexual orientation or gender to either heterosexual or cisgender through either medication or a physical method.