By Melanie Woods

OTTAWA — A federal LGBTQ conversion therapy ban could be on the horizon. Banning conversion therapy was prioritized in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Dec. 13 mandate letter to Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti, where Trudeau directed the ministry “to amend the Criminal Code to ban the practice of conversion therapy and take other steps required with the provinces and territories to end conversion therapy in Canada.”

The move marks the first concrete steps towards the fulfillment of the Liberal election promise to ban the harmful practice of attempting to forcibly change people’s gender or sexuality.

MacEwan University professor and longtime anti-conversion therapy advocate Kristopher Wells said he was “very pleased” to see banning conversion therapy prioritized by Trudeau’s minority government so quickly following the election.

“This is a real opportunity for Canada to show leadership on the world stage when it comes to passing the strongest legislation in the world,” he said. “To clearly demonstrate that conversion therapy has no place in our society or civilization.” Read more via HuffPost