Bill C-8 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill C-8 amends the Criminal Code to establish new criminal offences related to conversion therapy, including its advertisement and provision, and to enhance court powers regarding such content.
Bill C-8, also known as the An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), proposes to create new criminal offences related to conversion therapy. It also amends existing sections of the Criminal Code to include references to conversion therapy, particularly concerning court orders for the seizure and forfeiture of advertisements related to it, and to allow for broader seizure powers related to online content. The bill specifies that conversion therapy does not include practices related to gender transition or the exploration of one's identity. The proposed offences include causing someone to undergo conversion therapy against their will, causing a child to undergo conversion therapy, advertising conversion therapy, and benefiting financially from conversion therapy. The bill also includes provisions related to removing a child from Canada with the intention of them undergoing conversion therapy abroad. The changes would come into effect 30 days after the bill receives royal assent.
- Creates new offences in the Criminal Code related to conversion therapy.
- Amends the Criminal Code to include conversion therapy in laws related to court orders for seizure and forfeiture of advertisements.
- Defines conversion therapy and specifies what is not included in the definition.
- Establishes penalties for committing these new offences.
- Individuals who provide, advertise, or benefit from conversion therapy.
- Individuals who are caused to undergo conversion therapy, particularly children.
- Parents or guardians who may intend to remove a child from Canada to undergo conversion therapy.
- The justice system, including courts, law enforcement, and attorneys general.
- Providers of computer systems that store or make available digital content.
- Individuals have the right not to be forced to undergo conversion therapy against their will.
- Children have the right not to be caused to undergo conversion therapy.
- Individuals have the right not to have their conversion therapy advertised.
- Individuals have the right not to have others profit financially or materially from providing them conversion therapy.
- No person shall knowingly advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy.
- No person shall knowingly cause another person to undergo conversion therapy against their will.
- No person shall knowingly cause a person under 18 years of age to undergo conversion therapy.
- No person shall knowingly receive a financial or material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy.
- No person shall do anything for the purpose of removing a child from Canada with the intention that the child undergo conversion therapy outside Canada.
- The Act comes into force on the 30th day after the day on which it receives royal assent.
- Individuals who knowingly receive a financial or other material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy may be guilty of an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- Penalties for offences related to conversion therapy include imprisonment for up to five years for causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will or causing a child to undergo conversion therapy, and up to two years for advertising conversion therapy or receiving a material benefit from it.
- Causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will is an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- Causing a person under 18 years of age to undergo conversion therapy is an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- Advertising conversion therapy is an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- Receiving a financial or material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy is an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- Legal proceedings related to conversion therapy may require the consent of the Attorney General in certain circumstances.
- The bill does not define 'conversion therapy' in relation to practices that involve exploration of identity or gender transition.
- The bill clarifies that mistake of age is not a defence for causing a child to undergo conversion therapy unless reasonable steps were taken to ascertain the person's age.
- The bill does not specify the exact monetary value or nature of 'financial or other material benefit' that would constitute an offence.
Allows for the seizure of materials, including representations, written material, or recordings, if they are advertisements for conversion therapy.
Source: Clause 1(1)
Modifies the process by which courts can order the forfeiture of seized materials, explicitly including advertisements for conversion therapy, and outlines the conditions for the return of such materials if not deemed an advertisement for conversion therapy.
Source: Clause 1(2)
Requires the consent of the Attorney General to start or continue legal proceedings in a province under certain sections of the Criminal Code, including those related to conversion therapy, if a court has already made an order under section 164.
Source: Clause 1(3)
Adds a definition for 'advertisement for conversion therapy' to the Criminal Code, specifying that it includes various forms of material used to advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy contrary to a new proposed section.
Source: Clause 1(4)
Amends the conditions under which a judge may order the seizure of digital material, including advertisements for conversion therapy, stored on a computer system.
Source: Clause 2(1)
Modifies the court's power to order the deletion of digital material that is an advertisement for conversion therapy, or computer data making such advertisements available.
Source: Clause 2(2)
Amends the conditions under which electronic copies of material must be returned to a computer system custodian if they are not found to be an advertisement for conversion therapy.
Source: Clause 2(3)
Adds references to new offences related to conversion therapy, such as forced conversion therapy and causing a child to undergo conversion therapy, to the list of offences covered by this definition.
Source: Clause 3
Modifies an existing offence related to removing a child from Canada with the intention that an act be committed outside Canada. It adds a reference to the new offence of causing a child to undergo conversion therapy.
Source: Clause 4
Introduces new sections defining 'conversion therapy' and creating criminal offences for knowingly causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will, causing a child to undergo conversion therapy, advertising conversion therapy, and knowingly receiving a financial or material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy.
Source: Clause 5
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textThe official summary published alongside the bill, shown exactly as written.
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
A legislative summary is currently being prepared for this bill by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament. Meanwhile, the following executive summary is available. On 9 March 2020, the Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-8 amends the Criminal Code to, among other things, create the following offences: (a) causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against the person’s will; (b) causing a child to undergo conversion therapy; (c) doing anything for the purpose of removing a child from Canada with the intention that the child undergo conversion therapy outside Canada; (d) advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy; and (e) receiving a financial or other material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy. It also amends the Criminal Code to authorize courts to order that advertisements for conversion therapy be disposed of or deleted.
This is the official summary published by the Parliament of Canada, shown verbatim. Not legal advice. PoliticalData.ca did not write or edit this text.
View on LEGISinfoParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
On March 9, 2020, Bill C-8, concerning conversion therapy, was introduced in the House of Commons at first reading, alongside debates on economic matters and other House business.
On March 9, 2020, in the House of Commons, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti, introduced Bill C-8, an Act to amend the Criminal Code concerning conversion therapy. This marked the first reading of the bill, which is a procedural step where the bill is formally presented to the House. The Hansard record for this sitting also includes debates on an opposition motion concerning economic downturns and documents related to government appointments and the environment.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced