Dialogue Volume 11 Issue 2 2015 | Page 41

human rights Bill prevents public payment for conversion therapy College is committed to ensuring that all patients – regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity – are treated equitably, ethically and with respect A Private Member’s Bill has been passed that seeks to stop the practise of conversion therapy, where the intent is to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Bill received considerable media attention and the support of MPPs from all three political parties. The Bill was introduced by NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo. The Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, 2015, prevents public payment for conversion therapy offered by a regulated health-care professional. It also bans the practice for patients under 18, making it an offence for health professionals to engage in it. Ontario’s Minister of Health, Dr. Eric Hoskins, and the Premier, Kathleen Wynne, have spoken against the practice of conversion therapy. In April, Minister Hoskins sent a letter to the College and the colleges of psychologists, psychotherapists, and nurses asking each college to “identify how best to ensure that conversion therapy is not a practice that is engaged in by members of your professions.” In response, the College President Dr. Carol Leet assured the Minister that the College has the necessary tools to investigate and address complaints or reports we may receive about physicians engaging in conversion therapy. Dr. Leet affirmed that the College is committed to ensuring that patients receive evidence-based care and that all patients – regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity – are treated Cheri DiNovo, NDP MPP equitably, ethically and with respect. Dr. Leet noted that any service that treats particular sexual orientations or gender identities as pathologies to be “cured” is outside the bounds of acceptable professional practice. The College’s recently updated policy, Professional Obligations and Human Rights states that physicians must strive to create and foster an environment in which the rights, autonomy, dignity and diversity of all patients, or those seeking to become patients, are respected. The policy notes that the Ontario Human Rights Code protects the right of all Ontarians to receive equal treatment without discrimination on the grounds of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Issue 2, 2015 Dialogue 41