Debate on Ontario’s Bill 89 is coming down to the final stages. This bill, if passed, will replace the Child and Family Services Act. Among other things, it requires child protection workers, foster parents, adoption service providers, and judges to take into account and respect a child’s “race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”

Earlier this month, ARPA lawyer John Sikkema made a brief appearance before the Justice Committee at Queen’s Park. Sikkema says he only had five minutes to speak, so he focused specifically on why adding those definitions from the Human Rights Code to the law was “bad public policy.” For example, he says, gender identity is problematic because gender identity and gender expression involves “behaviours that parents might respond to differently depending on the circumstances and the child.”

The Committee started the wrap-up of its consideration of the bill last Thursday, and it’s headed back to the legislature soon. Sikkema says this is the stage that presents the best chance of getting amendments to the bill, and ARPA has picked two key points it would like added. You can see those points, and email your Ontario MPP, at this link. Sikkema also wrote a more extensive blog post about his appearance before the Committee, which you can see here.