OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – The federal government is moving a step closer to banning the practice of conversion therapy.
A bill will be presented to the House of Commons on Monday by Justice Minister David Lametti.
The bill will move to place conversion therapy within Canada’s criminal code, making it illegal for organizations to advertise or carry out the practice.
A national conversion therapy ban is on the agenda for Monday. Here are the details of the proposed bill #canpoli #LGBTQ2 #conversiontherapy pic.twitter.com/KJU12tMTLi
— Kenny Mason (@krmason7) March 6, 2020
Under Bill S-206, anyone advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy could face up to five years in prison.
LGBTQ advocates argue conversion therapy is an outdated practice aiming to change a person’s sexual identity or gender preference through counselling or religious practices.
Motions to ban the practice have already passed in several Canadian cities including Calgary, St. Albert and Vancouver.
WATCH: Laws needed at every level to ban conversion therapy
At least 20 U.S. states have also banned conversion therapy with Virginia recently passing its law to take effect in July.
Advocates for the ban call conversion therapy a form of torture that does nothing but harm and stigmatizes the LGBTQ community.