by JOCELYNE RICHER

The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, tabled a bill banning conversion therapy on Thursday, calling this kind of service “barbaric practices”. "It is unacceptable that in 2020 this type of therapy is still taking place in Quebec," said the minister, recalling that sexual orientation was not a choice.

Bill 70, which consists of only ten articles, clearly states that "any conversion therapy is presumed to infringe the right to integrity" of the person following it. People who have undergone this type of therapy in the past, often because of belonging to a religious group, may seek redress, or even financial compensation, for the “bodily or moral” damage resulting from the illegal treatment.

From a legal standpoint, “conversion therapy” is understood to mean any practice aimed at “getting a person to change their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression”. We are not talking here about a person wishing to change sex through surgery. Bill 70 prohibits anyone, free of charge or for remuneration, from soliciting a person to enter a gender reassignment process.

No professional will therefore be able to offer this type of therapy, under penalty of sanction by his professional order, even at the express request of an adult who would say willingly to change direction. When the law is passed, the offender will face a fine of up to $ 50,000, or even $ 150,000 in the case of a legal person. In the event of a repeat offense, the fine will double. Read more via La Presse