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CALGARY, Alberta, March 18, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A new poll conducted on behalf of one of Canada’s top constitutional legal groups shows that 91 percent of Canadians agree that adults should have the “right” to get the “sexuality counselling of their choice,” regardless of the desired goal of that therapy.
The poll results come from a Nanos National Survey, conducted on behalf of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), surveying 1,016 Canadian adults nationwide from February 28 to March 4.
According to the JCCF, the results from the survey show that in Canada, there is “strong support” for allowing anyone who wants to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion to be able to attain help.
“This strong support stands in contrast to the approach taken by several Canadian municipal governments and even the Federal Government. ‘Conversion therapy’ legislation in Canada, unlike most other ‘conversion therapy’ bans in the world, prevent even consenting adults from getting the counseling options of their choice,” the JCCF pointed out.
The poll results are in contrast to the Canadian federal government’s Bill C-6, often referred to as a “conversion therapy” ban. If passed, the bill would criminalize procedures that are labeled as types of “conversion therapy.”
Bill C-6, which has been called a “disgraceful” attack on parental freedoms by family groups, was introduced by Justice Minister David Lametti on October 1, and defines “conversion therapy” as any “practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.”
In October, Bill C-6, “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy),” passed second reading with the near-full support of Conservative Party MPs, with virtually all Liberal, New Democrat, Green, and Bloc Quebecois MPs. Several independent MPs voted in support of Bill C-6, as well.
At the time, Jack Fonseca, Political Operations Director for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), blasted CPC MPs who voted in favor of the bill, calling it a “huge betrayal.”
At the second reading of the bill in late October, Lametti essentially admitted that the federal conversion therapy ban would stop those who are consenting LGBTQ adults from being able to pay for any counseling services.
“We also recognize that criminalizing profiting from conversion therapy means that consenting adults would be prevented from accessing conversion therapy unless it is available free of charge,” said Lametti.
The JCCF noted that the poll resulted in four key findings, the first revolving around the proposition that “[c]onsenting adults should be free to get the sexuality counseling of their choice regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” 78 percent agree, 13 percent somewhat agree, five percent are unsure, and only 4 percent disagree, or somewhat disagree, with the statement.
JCCF Staff Lawyer Mary Moore told LifeSiteNews that the poll results show that “Canadian citizens have more respect for the freedom of all Canadians, including LGBTQ Canadians, to access the counselling of their choice than many Canadian politicians.”
“Over 90 percent of Canadians support the right of adults, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, to access the counselling of their choice. Yet, Bill C-6, by criminalizing any receipt of payment or even mere ‘promotion’ would effectively prevent adult LGBTQ Canadians from accessing support to reduce ‘non-heterosexual … sexual behaviour or non-cisgender gender expression’. This discriminatory treatment of people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity violates the Charter and is directly contrary to the views of 90 percent of Canadians,” said Moore.
Other findings show that Canadians are more likely to express they are “uncomfortable (33%) or somewhat uncomfortable (14%) with the government making it illegal to provide counselling for gay individuals to reduce unwanted sexual behaviour while continuing to allow straight people to access those same services (25% comfortable; nine per cent somewhat comfortable).”
Canadians are “divided overall on whether counselling” in different scenarios that are related to “gender identity, sexuality and sexual behaviour for minors” should be legal or illegal. Around one third of Canadians consistently stated they were unsure about this.
The last key finding from the report centers on healthcare professionals.
70 percent of Canadians agreed, or somewhat agreed, that there should be “strict requirements” for healthcare professionals to assess whether it is in a “young person’s best interests to irreversibly alter their body if it doesn’t match their gender identity,” and that counselling services “with a ‘wait and see’ approach should be available to minors thinking about changing their bodies through drug treatments.”
