In the wake of a petition to ban conversion therapy in the Yukon being presented to the government this month, YG will now seek feedback on this and a host of other issues via a final survey in early May.

That’s after the territory’s engagement on LGBTQ2S+ inclusion closed in late March.

The results are not available yet, but are expected to be made public the same time the final survey comes out next month.

That upcoming survey will include topics like conversion therapy, health care, education, culture and community, and trans health care, along with public services and facilities, Jeanie Dendys said Wednesday.

The minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate, Dendys spoke to the petition presented to the house in early April.

Thanking students for their involvement in bringing the petition forward, she reiterated her earlier statements that the government does not support the practice.

“Since receiving the petition, we added the issue of conversion therapy to the official ‘What we heard’ document from the LGBTQ2S+ engagement process,” Dendys said.

That will be in a section that includes topics that were mentioned outside of the more formal avenues, she added.

In early April, more than 400 signatures were presented to the legislature thanks to help from students in Whitehorse schools, including F.H. Collins and Porter Creek secondary schools.

Gender and Sexuality Alliances at these sites gathered in the legislature and spoke to media the day it was presented, adding action was needed.

The minister also noted Wednesday that YG will be talking to Nova Scotia to learn about that province’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Protection Act from last year.

That September 2018 act made the eastern jurisdiction the third province in the country to ban the practice.

Conversion therapy aims to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

Methods have varied throughout the years to include psychotherapy, electroshock therapy and chemical castration.

With some dating back to the 1900s, students felt a ban is a long-time coming.

One of those was Mercedes Bacon-Traplin, a student at F.H. and LGBTQ2S+ rights activist, who was on hand at the reading of the petition.

While it’s hard to tell just how big of a role the practice played here in the territory, Bacon-Traplin said, instances can be “underground,” so the petition’s efforts were to be proactive rather than reactive.

“If political views or societal views ever shift, we want to make sure that the laws are already in place to protect the youth,” she said.

Over in Nova Scotia, two Halifax LGBT groups spoke out last summer after a Bible camp in Pugwash looked to invite speakers who supported the practice and were part of Coming Out Ministries.

That U.S.-based group’s website states that “no greater joy has been experienced in our lives than that which has freed us from the chains of homosexuality.”

Meanwhile, a policy analyst with the Women’s Directorate confirmed Thursday that conversation with Nova Scotia had not yet happened.

That’s Collyn Lovelace, who explained in-person meetings and focus groups were held last summer, before the engageyukon.ca component went up last November and closed March 29.

“Anyone who didn’t feel comfortable coming to the public, face-to-face events, we had some questions that we were asking at the community dialogues online for people to do written submissions,” Lovelace said.

That means the portion that closed on March 29, as posted on the engageyukon.ca site, was for written submissions and not an actual survey, she added.

A survey will come in early May and run about four weeks, and the directorate will share a “What we heard” document at the same time this survey goes out to complement and speed up the process, Lovelace said.

That’s in contradiction to the engageyukon.ca page, which states “We will provide a What We Heard summary of the results of this public engagement following the survey.”

Last year, the Equality of Spouses Statue Law Amendment Act was given assent, which speaks inclusively of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

The Gender Diversity Amendments Act was also given assent last April, which is to help promote more regional, cultural and gender diversity on four government boards and committees.

There has not been a timeline set yet for when more legislation could be brought forward, Lovelace added, but the aim is to have results from the upcoming survey shape some of those considerations.