Alongside her dog Lyric, Shay Vanderschaeghe, a member of Red Deer's LGBTQ2S+ community, says a number of local city councillors showed their true colours during a debate last Monday on conversion therapy.  (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Motion to support ban sparked debate

Anger, confusion after city council’s vote on conversion therapy

Mar 6, 2020 | 3:00 PM

A contentious vote this week by Red Deer city council over whether to get behind a ban on conversion therapy led to disappointment among members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.

Councillor Dianne Wyntjes tabled a motion asking her colleagues to show support for a federal ban on the controversial practice that has been condemned by the Government of Alberta and health organizations around the globe.

Council instead voted on five different resolutions with varying levels of support.

“When resolution number three, which endorses provincial regulations, didn’t pass unanimously – Councillor Tanya Handley voted against it – I was stunned, but not as stunned as I was when councillors Frank Wong, Vesna Higham and Handley voted against the fact (resolution #2) that conversion therapy has negative impacts,” says Shay Vanderschaeghe, a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community who attended Monday’s meeting.

“Although Dianne wanted this to be about support and ally-ship for the LGBTQ2S+ community, what they really showed – specifically those three councillors – is that they believe LGBTQ2S+ people are not welcome in Red Deer, are not valuable people in a society, and at all costs should be converted back to their sex assigned at birth or to heterosexuality, and they proved indeed that this is the most unwelcoming I’ve ever seen my city be to me and my people.”

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Handley defended her voting through a statement posted to Facebook, saying in part, “I fully support the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with the protection of all citizens of Canada, as stated in the charter. I also support and believe in the City of Red Deer’s policy on being a welcoming and inclusive community, and I wholeheartedly believe in the RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence) principles the City practices.”

Dr. Kristopher Wells, a professor at Grant MacEwan University specializing in sexual and gender minority issues, says municipalities very much have the authority to make a statement on conversion therapy or implement a ban through bylaw.

“This was improperly framed as a moral issue when it’s an issue of public health and safety. It’s about protecting a vulnerable community from known forms of abuse. So it is clearly within the realm of council to be able to act,” says Wells, who consulted on conversion therapy with numerous Alberta municipalities and co-authored this report last year.

“Do they believe then that Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Rocky Mountain House don’t have the authority?” he asked. “They all operate under the same provincial legislation.”

Wells also says city council is wrong to cite a letter from Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer that states conversion therapy is “illegal” in Alberta.

“It is incorrect for Schweitzer to claim that, for all intents and purposes, conversion therapy is criminalized in Alberta when it’s not.”

Wells says provinces with conversion therapy legislation only deal with regulated health professionals, not the actual places where conversion therapy is happening, meaning there is more impetus for municipalities to take action.

As for Red Deer city council’s repeated references Monday to Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on equality rights, Wells says it’s easy to forget that every section of the Charter is subject to limitations.

“The research is conclusive that conversion therapy is a discredited, harmful and dangerous practice,” he says, noting Section 12, which deals with cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. “Freedom of religion does not give one freedom to cause harm, and this is the problem when council weighs outside of its expertise and tries to interpret the law. More often than not, they get it wrong.”

The Town of Rocky Mountain House recently amended its Business Licence Bylaw to ban conversion therapy. Anyone caught practicing it in the town can be fined $10,000.

“The town of Rocky Mountain House is a collaborative and inclusive community, and we’re very proud of that. We also understand the federal government is ultimately responsible for making conversion therapy illegal in Canada,” says Mayor Tammy Burke. “Council felt that this was an appropriate way to send a message to higher levels of government, and a broader one to everybody that we support all. We support everybody, that’s what a safe community does.”

Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer tells rdnewsNOW she will be releasing a follow-up statement regarding council’s conversion therapy decision in the coming days.

Meantime, it was announced Thursday that the federal Liberal government will introduce conversion therapy-related amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada on March 9.