Canada Votes 2021: Which candidates will pledge to safeguard gender-questioning kids?

The non-partisan groups Canadian Gender Report (CGR) and Gender Dysphoria Alliance (GDA) are asking all candidates in the Canadian federal election on September 20, 2021 to sign a pledge to safeguard gender-questioning young Canadians by using the best global evidence available.

They are encouraging all voters to email the candidates in their riding and tweet them using the hashtags #SafeGenderCare and #Election2021. To find out the candidates in a riding, voters can visit Elections Canada.

The pledge:

I pledge to support a free discussion of gender identity issues with fair representation of all points of view. In particular, to ensure we safeguard Canadian children from unnecessary and potentially harmful medical interventions, I pledge 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. 

1. By directing the appropriate agency of Health Canada to conduct a review of the diagnosis and treatment of gender dysphoria in minors along the lines of the reviews in Finland, Sweden, and the UK with a view to developing reliable and unbiased clinical guidelines based on the available international evidence.
2. By ensuring that the Canadian government does not inadvertently legislate a one-way path to medical transition with a poorly worded conversion therapy ban that eliminates options for gender-questioning children to access neutral psychotherapy as a treatment option.
3. To provide support for research into detransition and desistance in order to create an informed and complete understanding of the outcomes of various gender healthcare pathways.

​Both groups have provided a list of frequently asked questions to help guide candidates, including information about the unbiased and comprehensive reviews of gender-altering drugs and surgeries conducted in progressive countries like Finland, Sweden, and the UK; the risks of social transitioning; and the importance of neutral and exploratory psychotherapy.

For the full pledge and FAQs, visit the websites of either CGR or GDA.