Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as reparative therapy or the ex-gay movement, is the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change an individual’s sexual orientation from queer (used here as an umbrella term for members of the LGBTQ+ rainbow) to heterosexual using psychological, physical, and/or spiritual interventions. Examples of this range from ‘talk therapy,’ to, on the extreme end, rape. Historically, lobotomies and electroshock treatments were utilized, among others. To date, only the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba—by legal statute and health regulation, respectively—have made any effort to ban conversion therapy in Canada. The City of Vancouver, in early 2018, also banned the practice within city limits, becoming the first Canadian city to do so. Speakers: Devon Hargreaves and Jenn Takahashi Devon Heargreaves is a leader in the not for profit sector, expert in marketing, and a representative for an international company. His talents and interests are varied; from LGBTQIA+ visibility t