Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 2, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A9 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A 9NEWS I CANADA Expedited Delivery on In-Stock Items dlanoDcMdlanoR House Charities® Free In-Home Design Assistance 204-783-8500 1425 Ellice Avenue TEMPORARY STORE HOURS Monday – Friday 10AM – 7PM Saturday 10AM – 6PM Sunday 11AM – 5PM www.la-z-boy.com/winnipeg Private Shopping Appointments available at https://www.calendly.com/lazboystore303 FINAL WEEKEND! S A V E $500 SAVE $500 D I X I E Stationary Sofa S C A R L E T T High Leg Recliner Now Only $799 V A I L Rocking Recliner Now Only $599 C O L L A G E Rocking Recliner Now Only $499 POWER AND/OR a i r fo rm™ UPGR ADES AVA IL ABLE ON ALL RECL IN ING ST YLES $1,699ea. 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The government had previously introduced the legisla- tion in March, just before Parliament shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then their decision to prorogue in August erased the bill from the House of Commons agenda. Diversity Minister Bardish Chagger said choosing to re- introduce an effort to ban so-called conversion therapy just days into the new parliamentary session sends a strong sig- nal. She called conversion therapy destructive, harmful and deadly “On this side of the House we focus on advancing and pro- tecting LGBTQ2 rights,” she told the House of Commons Thursday. The NDP had backed the previous bill. They suggested Thursday they would support this one as well, ensuring its passage through the House of Commons. “Attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is impossible and the attempts themselves do great harm to those fearing or already suffering from rejection by family, friends and their community,” NDP MP Randall Garrison said in the House of Commons. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole called conversion ther- apy wrong and said it should be banned. But he accused Liberals of deliberately introducing a pot- entially divisive piece of legislation just as he’s begun his job as leader of the party. There are MPs in his caucus who have been vocally opposed to the bill in the past. The new bill ignores the “drafting failures” of the first one, O’Toole said. “Clarity is one of the goals of legislative drafting but the Liberals know that clarity and sincerity don’t always make for good wedge politics in the age of Twitter,” he said. “The government knows if the bill is more clearly drafted they might lose their ‘gotcha’ effect that is becoming far too common in the politics we see to the south of us.” The bill would ban conversation therapy for minors and also outlaw forcing an adult to undergo conversation ther- apy against their will. The bill would also ban removing a minor from Canada for the purpose of obtaining conversion therapy abroad. The bill also aims to make it illegal to profit from provid- ing conversion therapy and to advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy. The new offences would not apply to those who provide support to individuals questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity, such as parents, friends, teachers, doc- tors, mental health professionals, school or pastoral coun- sellors and faith leaders. But those who oppose the bill have suggested it is too vaguely worded to assure those protec- tions. Among them, former leadership contestant and MP Derek Sloan, who has the previous bill amounts to “effectively putting into law child abuse” because it promotes gender- reassignment surgery and criminalizes conversations be- tween parents and their kids. Justice Minister David Lametti insisted Thursday it does not. He said conversations youth have with supportive adults and professionals are critical to their development. The bill also wouldn’t criminalize conversations where personal points of view on sexual orientation or gender identity are expressed, he said. “What this bill targets, what we are targeting, are those who actively work to and provide services designed to change someone’s gender identity.” Lametti said the Liber- als will work in good faith with the opposition on the bill and noted the support O’Toole gave the ban itself. “If Mr. O’Toole is sincere, and I think he is, it will be up to him to bring his caucus in line.” Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party will also support the bill. “The sooner (LGBTTQ+ people) get all the respect that they deserve as much as anybody else, the sooner it is pos- sible, the sooner it must happen,” he said. O’Toole’s office did not directly answer a question about whether Conservative MPs would be told how to vote on the bill or allowed to choose. During the leadership race, O’Toole had pledged to allow free votes on matters of con- science. — The Canadian Press Liberals revive bill to outlaw forced conversion therapy STEPHANIE LEVITZ PIONEERING female aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill is the focus of a new Heritage Minute. Historica Canada released a tribute to MacGill’s influen- tial role in the Second World War on Thursday to mark the first day of Women’s History Month. MacGill was one of the first women admitted to the en- gineering program at the University of Toronto in 1923, and would earn a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan six years later. The Heritage Minute clip picks up after those achieve- ments, centring on her role at the Canadian Car & Foundry in what is now Thunder Bay, Ont. That’s where she oversaw the production of more than 1,400 Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft, some which were flown by Canadian airmen in the Battle of Britain. Her involvement helped earn her the nickname “Queen of the Hurricanes.” — The Canadian Press Female aeronautical engineer gets Heritage Minute SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Diversity Minister Bardish Chagger said choosing to reintro- duce an effort to ban so-called conversion therapy just days into the new parliament- ary session sends a strong signal. She called conversion therapy destructive, harmful and deadly. A_13_Oct-02-20_FP_01.indd A9 10/1/20 10:07 PM ;