Office of the Councillors
City of Calgary
PO Box 2100, Station M
Calgary, AB T2P 2M5
May 21, 2020
His Worship Mayor Naheed Nenshi
Calgary City Council and Administration:
We, the undersigned, applaud you for your brave and bold leadership shown on February 3rd, 2020, when you unanimously voted for our city’s administration to craft a bylaw to protect LGBTQ2SIA+ Calgarians from the unscientific, fraudulent, and harmful practices of “conversion therapy”.
On May 13th and 14th, at the SPC meeting on Community and Protective Services, our city’s administration delivered a rigorously tested bylaw that aligns with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and protects vulnerable individuals from the abuses of so-called “sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression change efforts”. This bylaw has been prepared in full consultation with all stakeholders, supported by expert researchers, lawyers, and administrators to create the strongest bylaw possible to protect Calgarians.
Any attempts to amend this bylaw create exemptions and loopholes that are not only unethical, they are dangerous. Any changes made to this bylaw will place people’s lives at risk, effectively nullifying an intended prohibition on this harmful practice.
We are writing you as a coalition of Calgary’s diverse Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual communities to implore you to stand up for our rights, and for the lives of those most vulnerable to this unethical practice.
The Bylaw doesn’t need to be changed. We don’t need to be changed.
On Monday, May 25th, you will be given the opportunity to fulfill your commitment to end conversion therapy in Calgary. Please approve this bylaw as written – without amendments, without exemptions, and with the full support of your belief in the strength, dignity, and humanity of our LGBTQ2SIA+ communities.
Sincerely,
Pam Rocker, Director
Affirming Connections
Ian Watt, Board President
Apollo, The Western Cup
Kevin Allen, Historian, Author & Research Lead
Calgary Gay History Project
Shawn Loo, Board President
Calgary Men’s Chorus
Paul Meunier, Board President
Calgary Outlink
Shone Thistle, Board President
Calgary Pride
James Demers, Executive Director
Calgary Queer Arts Society
Pam Krause, President & CEO
Centre for Sexuality
Safa Rahman, Member
El-Tawhid Juma Circle
Boban Stojanovic, LGBTQ+ Program Manager
Centre for Newcomers
Kelly Ernst, President
End of the Rainbow Foundation
Kay Orr, Board President
Fellowship of Alberta Bears
Keith Murray, Affirming Coordinator
Hillhurst United Church
Leslie Hill, Executive Director
HIV Community Link
Nina Tron, Board President
Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch
Michelle Robinson, Sahtu Dene, Co-chair
MMIWG2S Calgary Committee
Jane Perry, Artistic Director
One Voice Chorus
Jarom Moriyama-Bondar, Co-founder
Pride in Business
Jonathon Lloyd, Board Secretary
Prime Timers Calgary
Donna Thorsten, Manager
Rainbow Elders Calgary
Lindsay Peace, Co-founder
Skipping Stone Foundation
Gordon Sombrowski, Advisory Committee
The Chinook Lesbian and Gay Endowment Fund
Floyd Visser, Executive Director
The SHARP Foundation
A coalition of LGBTQ2SIA+ serving organizations listed in alphabetical order by organization. This letter can also be found on Calgary Pride’s website here: www.calgarypride.ca/banning-conversion-therapy
Calgary Gay History 