Examining options to prohibit the practice and advertising of conversion therapy in Thunder Bay.

City administration is set to lay out to council Monday night what could be done with engagement with local agencies as well as planning, development, business licensing and human resources support for city employees.

The case was made back in July of 2021 by several local figures including the Northwood Councillor, who received unanimous support for her motion to ask for the report from city staff.

When explaining the practice, Dr. Kristopher Wells from McEwan University told council: “It essentially is if you’re a two-spirit, queer, trans, bisexual person, that you could undergo counselling or therapy sessions to convert you to being heterosexual.”

Dr. Wells discredited the practice, and said it causes harms to anyone forced into it.

“It’s a bit of a misnomer to even call it conversion therapy which is why you will often see it in quotation marks,” added Dr. Wells. “It’s not a recognized therapy at all, it is a form of abuse and family violence and child focused violence.”

Bill C-4 came into effect on January 7th 2022, which amended Canada’s Criminal Code by creating new criminal offenses related to conversion therapy.

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.