Canada Votes 2021: What next?
In August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election, hoping for a commanding majority and mandate to govern, and on September 20, after spending more than $600 million on a pandemic election that no one wanted, Canada spit back nearly identical results: Trudeau again lost the popular vote, won about the same amount of seats as last time, and will once more need to govern as a minority. It’s not unexpected.
All other electoral issues aside, what does this mean for parents of gender-questioning kids? According to the Liberals’ platform, within 100 days Bill C-6 (the “conversion therapy” bill, which will have a new number and possibly new wording) will be back.
That means parents will again need to sharpen their pencils, limber up their emailing fingers, and pick up the phone to make it abundantly clear that our issue with the bill is NOT that we are FOR conversion therapy (Who in their right mind would argue that? For anyone to truly believe that of parents is disingenuous and completely misunderstands our concerns) but AGAINST a poorly worded and unclear bill.
That’s it. The bill should be passed – but in very precisely and carefully worded form that does not conflate or confuse neutral exploratory therapy with the torture known as conversion therapy and that does not harm children who, according to the research, are quite likely to grow up to be gay.
With this in mind, here are some concrete actions you can take. There’s a lot, so do whatever you feel comfortable with or have the time to do:
- Contact your newly elected MPs and tell them the latest global research:
- Finland has banned drugs for all gender-questioning youth under 18 and is prioritizing psychotherapy
- Sweden has banned all drugs for all gender-questioning youth under 18 except for clinical trials
- At least one Australian clinic now requires prior court approval before puberty blocker prescriptions can be issued
- The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s systematic reviews of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones show “very low” (their words) evidence
- The unexplained exponential and statistically improbable growth of children and adolescents visiting Canadian gender clinics and the limitations of the informed consent model on such young people
- How ethical, neutral, exploratory therapy can help children cope with gender dysphoria
- How the exact wording of the bill matters in terms of possibly creating a chill effect among therapists
- Ask them to follow the lead of other progressive countries like Sweden, Finland, and the UK to require the Canadian government to conduct a non-partisan and unbiased review of the current medical and mental health practices being offered to gender-questioning children and young people in Canada (similar to the UK’s independent Cass Review) for the benefit of all, both those who will grow up into transgender adults and those who will desist or detransition.
- Contact your Senators and show them the latest global research:
- Use the above information.
- Prepare a brief (short or long, anonymous or not) to be sent to the committees that will be formed by Parliament and the Senate to study this new bill and its very exact wording. For some advice on how to write a brief, go here.
- Use the above information as part of your brief.
- Keep abreast of international developments and update your MP and Senator accordingly:
- The UK’s Cass Review, an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, is due soon.
- A national review of gender dysphoria in Sweden should be out next year.
- SEGM – updated as pertinent medical news arises
- Genspect – regular international news updates
- Spread the word to people you know and trust. My own experience is that more parents are waking up to what is going on with our children, are open to learning more – and are shocked by what they hear and see when it comes to gender-questioning kids being quickly and automatically affirmed and medicalized.
- Stock up on and give copies to trusted friends and family members of Abigail Shrier’s book Irreversible Damage (I don’t like the cover or title either), Debra Soh’s The End of Gender, or Trans by Helen Joyce.
- Put copies of aforementioned books in your local Little Free Libraries.
- Ensure your local library has each of these books stocked, as well as a copy of Gender Dysphoria: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults by Marcus Evans and Susan Evans.
- Remind libraries of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ renewed commitment to free speech.
- Send guidance notes to the doctors, educators, schools, therapists, and others in your life.
- Send this webpage to sympathetic friends and family members, asking them to also take action.
The bottom line: We parents need to gear up, work hard, and not lose sight of what’s important. Our children’s future and long-term physical and mental health is on the line.
And who cares about them most? Activist groups with their own agendas, teachers who’ve known them for just a few months, and well-meaning young friends who lack the wisdom of long-term critical thinking skills and brain development?
Or us, their parents?
The author is a parent from Ontario.
Photo credit: Ivan Torres of Pexels