HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1  In this Act:

"conversion therapy" means counselling, behaviour modification techniques or the administration or prescription of medication or any other practice, treatment or service provided with the purported objective of changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, but does not include

(a) services that provide acceptance, support or understanding of a person or that facilitate a person's coping, social support or identity exploration or development, or

(b) a gender-confirming surgery or any related service;

"health professional" means

(a) a medical practitioner, or

(b) a person authorized to practise a designated health profession within the meaning of the Health Professions Act;

"hospital" means a hospital within the meaning of the Hospital Act or the Hospital Insurance Act;

"hospital service" means an in-patient service or an outpatient service that is provided in a hospital;

"minor" means a person under 19 years of age;

"professional service" means a service provided by a health professional within the health professional's scope of practice;

"scope of practice" means the roles and functions authorized for a health professional by the health professional's governing statute, including counselling, providing behaviour modification techniques, administering and prescribing medication and any other purported treatment.

Certain hospital services and
professional services prohibited

2  (1) A health professional must not, within the health professional's scope of practice, provide to a minor any hospital service or professional service that would constitute conversion therapy.

(2) Despite any other Act or regulation, a parent, guardian, substitute decision maker or representative decision maker may not give consent on a minor's behalf to the provision by a health professional of any hospital service or professional service that would constitute conversion therapy.

Person in position of trust or authority

3  (1) A person in a position of trust or authority in relation to a minor must not provide conversion therapy to the minor.

(2) Despite any other Act or regulation, a parent, guardian, substitute decision maker or representative decision maker may not give consent on a minor's behalf to the provision of conversion therapy by a person in a position of trust or authority in relation to the minor.

Not insured service

4  Despite any other Act or regulation, the provision of conversion therapy as a hospital service or professional service is not an insured service for which a beneficiary or other person may be paid or reimbursed.

Expenditure of public funds prohibited

5  The expenditure of public funds to or on behalf of a person for the provision of conversion therapy is prohibited.

Power to make regulations

6  (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations defining, for the purposes of this Act, any word or expression used but not defined in this Act.

(3) A regulation under this section may prescribe different regulations for different persons or classes of persons.

Commencement

7  This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

 
Explanatory Note

This Bill prohibits

• the provision of conversion therapy to minors by health professionals, as a hospital service or professional service, and by persons in a position of trust or authority,
• the payment or reimbursement of the cost of conversion therapy provided as a hospital service or professional service, and
• the expenditure of public funds for the provision of conversion therapy.