LGBT activists mad at demise of anti-‘conversion’ therapy group under Alberta’s new governing party
Alberta’s newly minted United Conservative Party government is under fire from media and LGBT activists for the demise of an NDP ad hoc group tasked with advising the former health minister on banning so-called conversion therapy. Such therapy aims to help individuals overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion, and though evidence exists it does much good, the nearly universally accepted view now advanced in Canada by media, LGBT activists, and healthcare professionals are that it is a harmful pseudo-science. It is sometimes called reparative therapy. Ontario, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia have all outlawed therapists helping people overcome such unwanted feelings, and B.C.’s Green Party leader Andrew Weaver introduced similar legislation on Monday. Weaver’s bill would ban therapy for unwanted gay attractions or gender confusion for individuals under age 19, and severely restrict its availability to adults, the Vancouver Sun reported. “It is particularly importan