On June 1, Town of Greater Napanee mayor Marg Isbester joined Josh Matson and his husband Chris Beauchesne on the steps of town hall to proudly display the rainbow flag in celebration of Pride Month.
On June 3, Hastings Lennox and Addington Conservative MP Derek Sloan proved why such displays and shows of support are still needed in 2020.
Sloan, elected to represent the riding and with visions of leading the country’s official opposition, stated his intentions to strike down Bill C-8, which intends to ban the practice of seeking to change an individual’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. The practice is commonly referred to as conversion therapy, though Sloan considers it ‘counselling’ and went so far as to say preventing parents from having the ability to force their children to go to conversion therapy is ‘child abuse’.
That conversion therapy is even still legal in some parts of Canada in 2020 is disgraceful. Its very existence reinforces the damaging notion that someone who identifies as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer) is somehow ‘sick’ and needs to be ‘cured’. It promotes feelings of rejection, depression and self-hatred while studies show it can create long-lasting damage to the mental health of those subjected to it.
An elected MP calling for that practice to continue gives a voice to the homophobic community who wish to make the lives of LGBTQ members miserable, simply because they aren’t comfortable with how others live their lives. Canada has come a long way towards making all its citizens feel welcome, but Sloan’s comments are a reminder there’s still a long way to go and any progress can be just as quickly reversed if the right people don’t speak out.
Fellow Conservative race candidate Peter MacKay made his feelings known, calling Sloan’s comments, ‘reprehensible.’ That’s noteworthy not only because they belong to the same party, but also because the vote for the Conservative leadership will be a ranked ballot. Polls have MacKay as the favourite, though in a close race with Erin O’Toole. MacKay’s stance will likely not win him many points with Sloan’s base who may choose to back O’Toole in the event that polls are correct (though there’s always a chance they get it wrong) and Sloan is eliminated after the first round. Most recent polls generally have Sloan hovering around seven per cent among registered Conservative supporters who will take part in the mail-in election.
Whatever Sloan’s reasons for feeling the need to keep conversion therapy legal are not important. No one’s forcing him to have to like the idea that members of the LGBTQ community deserve respect and the same human rights as all Canadian citizens enjoy. But to actively seek to deny those rights are not qualities of a Canadian leader.
-Adam Prudhomme