Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi speaks during a city council meeting, in Calgary, on Oct. 31, 2018. The motion was sponsored by Nenshi and five city councillors.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Calgary city councillors have unanimously voted to ban conversion therapy in the city.
Hundreds of rainbow-clad LGBTQ community members and their supporters were at city hall for the vote, with many spilling into the foyer to watch on screens.
Conversion therapy aims to change someone’s sexual orientation through counselling or religious teachings, a practice that has been discredited as psychologically damaging.
The motion was sponsored by five city councillors and Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
It calls for a bylaw that would impose a fine against those advertising or offering conversion therapy services within Calgary.
The motion also says the city should urge the province use the tools it has to end the practice.
A number of Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Edmonton and St. Albert, Alta., have already banned the practice.
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