In June of 2019, the parliamentary Standing Committee on Health (HESA) released a report on the health of 2SLGBTQI communities in Canada. After hearing testimony from members of the community and healthcare professionals, HESA assessed the current state of health, healthcare, and healthcare law for 2SLGBTQI people in Canada. The report made 23 recommendations to the federal government.
Though progress has been made on some recommendations, notably involving community consultation on the best practices to collect accurate official data about the 2SLGBTQI community, there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Among the key recommendations that have yet to be implemented are the prohibition of conversion therapy, which appears likely to expire in the Senate when a federal election is held; a plan for universal pharmacare that would, among other things, make gender-affirming healthcare far more accessible; and an end to the blood ban. Furthermore, HESA recommended an end to aesthetic surgeries on intersex infants, a practice that constitutes a major human rights violation. The federal government has undertaken no action on this point, and Egale has now launched a case before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking to have such unnecessary and nonconsensual surgery declared unconstitutional.
This brief goes through the 23 recommendations one by one and assesses the progress made on each point. The categorization and wording of each recommendation is taken directly from the report. It is intended as a resource for advocates seeking to review the current federal government’s track record on 2SLGBTQI healthcare policy.